Pitching Update

Rich Hill finally made his debut in the 2009 season this past Saturday and notched his first win, beating the Kansas City Royals. Hill went 5 and 2/3 innings while walking two batters and striking out six.

Hill will help to fortify the number three slot in the Orioles rotation behind Jeremy Guthrie and Koji Uehara, who has exhibited great command since his arrival in the major leagues. As for the odd man out of the rotation, it looks to be Mark Hendrickson, who the Orioles originally signed to use as a long man in relief.

Another positive sign of things to come is the great performances of top pitching prospects, Jake Arrieta, Brian Matusz, and Chris Tillman. Arrieta tossed a complete game one-hitter in Double A on Saturday night, striking out a career-high ten batters. If this continues, the future looks bright for the Orioles pitching staff in the coming years.