SARASOTA, Fla. - Jason Hammel stuck around for only two innings today, leaving the game with the score tied, 2-2, and his pitch count at 59. Hammel retired the side in order in the first inning, striking out two, but he allowed two runs and three hits in the second, with two walks and two more strikeouts. He needed 39 pitches to get through the inning, and Brad Bergesen replaced him to start the third. Hammel threw 36 strikes among his 59 pitches. In four outings, Hammel has allowed four...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Brad Bergesen tossed three scoreless innings today, allowing two hits, walking two and striking out one. Miguel Socolovich replaced him in the top of the seventh with the Orioles leading, 4-1. Socolovich gave up a run in the seventh. Orioles 4, Rays 2. Jason Hammel started for the Orioles and allowed one run and one hit, walked one and struck out two. His only real mistake was a 2-0 fastball to Matt Joyce that cleared the right field fence. "Before in the past, I'd give up...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles' bats must be thawing out today. They scored four runs in the second inning off Rays left-hander David Price, their biggest uprising in an inning this spring. They've scored more than four runs in a game only once this spring. Jai Miller crushed a three-run homer to straightaway center field with one out in the second to give the Orioles a 4-1 lead. The ball easily cleared the 400-foot sign. Miller and Chris Davis have hit the only home runs for the Orioles...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Left-hander Troy Patton was handed the ball in the ninth inning today, and he picked up the save by retiring the side in order and striking out one in the Orioles' 2-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves. Manager Buck Showalter touched on the following topics: On Jason Hammel: "He was good. He's facing a team that obviously knows him and has seen a lot of him. He's working on getting his times to the plate faster. We've challenged our pitchers with Matt (Wieters) and...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles pitcher Jason Hammel says he was more amped up for Friday's intrasquad start than today's Grapefruit League outing against the Atlanta Braves. Hammel retired the side in order in his only inning on Friday. Today, he allowed two hits and a walk in two scoreless innings. "Honestly, for the first time out, considering all things, the results were good," he said. "The fastball was a little erratic today. That was my goal, to work on fastball command. The first inning...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Jason Hammel provided quite a contrast to yesterday's starter, Wei-Yin Chen, and not only for the obvious reasons. Chen was a strike-thrower yesterday. Hammel had trouble finding the plate this afternoon. However, Hammel also gave the Orioles two scoreless innings, allowing two hits and walking a batter. Hammel walked Braves leadoff hitter Luis Durango on four pitches and fell behind, 2-0, to Martin Prado. But Matt Wieters threw out Durango trying to steal second, and...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Jason Hammel makes his first spring start today. For the Orioles: Nolan Reimold LF J.J Hardy SS Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Mark Reynolds 3B Wilson Betemit 1B Jai Miller RF Ryan Adams DH Robert Andino 2B Jason Hammel RHP Manager Buck Showalter told reporters that he wanted to see more of Miller, who had a three-run double yesterday, and the former Oakland Athletics outfielder is starting in right today. Also, Showalter indicated that Nick Johnson would play first...

One member of the organization insisted today that the Rockies provided "by far the best offer" that the Orioles received for pitcher Jeremy Guthrie. Some teams wanted the Orioles to eat a lot of salary and they weren't dangling prospects in return. The Orioles and Guthrie were $3 million apart and headed to arbitration this morning. The Orioles weren't going to split the difference, and they most definitely weren't going to pay him the $10.25 million that he sought. They deemed it to be...

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette just completed a conference call with reporters that also included new pitchers Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom. He described them as being dependable, durable, qualified major league pitchers. Hammel is viewed as capable of replacing Jeremy Guthrie's innings in the rotation, and Lindstrom will work the back end of the bullpen with experience as a closer and set-up man. Duquette referenced Jim Johnson as another power arm in the back of the 'pen,...

This Jeremy Guthrie trade is not playing to rave reviews with fans or media. Guthrie was a popular player who pitched well for this team and the early response from fans is that the Orioles did not get enough in return for the right-hander. This morning, he was sent to Colorado for pitchers Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom. Keep in mind that the closer a player gets to free agency, the less value the player has in a trade. Plus, Guthrie is coming off a year where his ERA increased from 3.83 to...

The Orioles had an arbitration hearing scheduled today with pitcher Jeremy Guthrie in St. Petersburg, Fla., but it's been postponed amid rumors that he's about to be traded. And according to a source, a deal is close with the Rockies that would bring pitchers Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom to Baltimore. Hammel, 29, was 7-13 with a 4.76 ERA in 32 games - including 27 starts - for the Rockies last season. He's 34-45 with a 4.99 ERA in 169 games, including 115 starts in six seasons spent with...