Orioles release Eaton

According to MASN's Roch Kubatko, the Orioles have released Adam Eaton and recalled Matt Albers from Triple-A Norfolk.

The move comes after yet another bad start from Eaton yesterday, when he allowed eight hits and seven runs in 4.2 innings in a 7-4 loss to the Yankees. Not only did Eaton pitch poorly for the Orioles -- 2-5 record, 8.56 ERA, 1.47 K/BB, 1.98 HR/9, .326 BAA -- but in his eight starts, he only pitched for more than five innings in two of them. And since he was pitching poorly and not eating up many innings, Eaton got the boot.

Asked about why the Orioles released Eaton, manager Dave Trembley said:

"The record and the way he pitched is pretty self-evident what the factors were.

"I just didn't see him being able to locate his pitches on a repetitive basis. The guy's pitched for a long time and knew what he wanted to do and worked at it. The hits just came in succession. It just seemed like big innings were what he couldn't stay away from. I don't think it was stuff or lack of stuff, I think it was the inability to locate."

Albers, though, will not take Eaton's place in the rotation; instead, he'll pitch out of the bullpen. The Orioles apparently will call up a starter from Norfolk to pitch on Tuesday.

After a decent 2008 season (3.49 ERA) that was cut short by a labrum tear, Albers hasn't looked the same. Opting to rehab the injury instead of having shoulder surgery, Albers struggled in the beginning of the season (7.71 ERA) before being sent down to Triple-A.

Albers will never strike out a lot of batters, but he's most effective when throwing strikes with his two-seamer and not giving up many walks. He also does a good job of keeping the ball in the ballpark.

In a brief and effective stint in the minor leagues, Albers posted much better numbers: 1-0, 2.25 ERA, 9 Ks, 3 BBs. If he's able to find his 2008 form, he could give the bullpen a much-needed lift.

Greinke dominates O's; Hill to start today

With the start of the game delayed for more than two hours by rain, Royals fans had to wait a little while before seeing their ace get to pitch on Friday night. But the patient fans who stayed got just wait they paid to see.

Zack Greinke (0.60 ERA) gave up one run in seven innings to improve to 7-1 on the season as the Royals cruised to an 8-1 victory. He also walked just two Orioles batters while striking out six of them.

While Greinke was fantastic, the same can't be said for Adam Eaton (7.93 ERA), who surrendered 10 hits and seven runs, including two long home runs to Mike Jacobs and Miguel Olivo.

Brian Roberts and Aubrey Huff each had two-hit games for the Orioles, while Mark Teahan had three hits and Jacobs, Jose Guillen, and Alberto Callaspo each had two hits in the Royals' eight-run, 13-hit attack.

To shift gears, Rich Hill is scheduled to make his Orioles debut tonight. With the move, Mark Hendrickson moves to the bullpen, which is exactly what happened last night, as Hendrickson gave up one run in three innings after replacing Eaton. Hendrickson has been pretty bad this season -- 1-4, 6.03 ERA, 1.38 K/BB ratio -- but, to be fair, the Orioles envisioned Hendrickson as the long man out of the bullpen from the beginning. Injuries forced him into the rotation, but hopefully Hill stays healthy, pitches well, and is able to remain in the rotation for a while.

As of this moment, the Orioles still have not made a corresponding roster move to make room for Hill. Some options include: placing Adam Jones or Luke Scott on the disabled list; sending Lou Montanez or Nolan Reimold back to Norfolk; or even, though not likely, designating Felix Pie for assignment. A move should be announced soon.

Eaton steps up in O's win

Adam Eaton, who had managed to pitch only four innings in each of his first two starts, tossed seven and a third innings tonight against the White Sox in a 6-2 Orioles win. The win improved the Orioles' record to 8-8 on the season -- which includes an 0-4 record against the Red Sox and an 8-4 record (and four series wins) against the Yankees, Rays, Rangers, and White Sox.

On offense, the O's were able to get to Bartolo Colon quickly, knocking him out of the game after three innings with eight hits and five runs. Aubrey Huff, Ty Wigginton, and Felix Pie all had two hits apiece; Pie's multi-hit effort raised his batting average to a robust .171. And one of Wigginton's hits, an RBI-double, was his first extra-base hit of the season.

The season is young, but Eaton's performance was definitely impressive. And when an Orioles starter pitches well, it's definitely worth noting. In those seven-plus innings, Eaton gave up six hits and two runs (Jim Johnson allowed two inherited runners to score), and he struck out nine batters while walking none. In 102 pitches, he threw 74 for strikes, relentlessly attacking the strike zone and repeatedly getting ahead of opposing batters.

The solid outing lowered Eaton's ERA to 7.04 -- but could be something to build on. A pitcher like Eaton is certainly expendable for the Orioles if he struggles in some of his starts down the road, but more efforts like this one could be very useful/helpful to a thin staff that has already lost Alfredo Simon for the year. Eaton doesn't have to be an ace, but if he can eat some innings and give the Orioles' younger pitchers in the farm system more time to develop, his presence on the team will be relatively positive.

Then again, it was just one outing. Hopefully he can duplicate it in his next start.

AP Photo/Rob Carr