Brian Matusz was injured from the batting cage incident the other day, so he had to have his start moved back a day. That change called for a new starter last night. Therefore, Jake Arrieta who was working on normal rest was re-inserted into the starting rotation after being moved to the bullpen following his last start. Based on how he was pitching lately, we should have expected disaster. We actually got brilliance for Arrieta though. Arrieta got a quality start as he went 7 innings and only gave up one run. The performance also got Arrieta a win and raised his record to (3-8). His ERA is still an awful 5.89, but he did earn another start. Hopefully, this is the start of a big change for Jake.Pedro Strop also pitched well in this one. Strop pitched a scoreless ninth for the birds. That lowered Strop's ERA to 1.44. You might see Strop on my list of all-stars later today as well.
Brian Roberts went hitless in the 7-1 victory, but his average is still .333. JJ Hardy was 3-4 with 3 runs scored. Chris Davis was 3-4 with 3 RBIs. Davis also hit his 12th home run of the season and is now hitting .305. If 1st base in the AL wasn't so stacked, Davis would have a real shot at the all-star game. He may make it still. New OF Steve Pearce was 2-4 with an RBI. Pearce is hitting .286 since joining the Orioles. Not to shabby, Steve. Finally, the star of the night offensively was Wilson Betemit. He was 3-3 with 3 RBIs. Betemit also had his 8th home run of the season. Some may not like what Wilson provides and may liken him to Vlad, but Wilson has provided solid production for the Orioles. Are there other players I would rather have? Of course, but Wilson gets the job done.-Noland
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