Jake Arrieta (left) was still wiping off the remnants of his first major league shaving cream pie when he sat down for his postgame news conference. Obviously, he was happy to pitch well against the Yankees in his major league debut, but he seemed happier about his ability to control his emotions well enough to get his first win.
"I wanted to go out there and make pitches and not let the adrenalin get the best of me,'' he said. "I thought in the first three innings, it did."
He settled down, however, and got a huge out with the bases loaded in the sixth inning, striking out Marcus Thames to leave the game with a chance to win.
"I know there are going to be a lot of times when I'm going to have to make that kind of pitch throughout my career,'' Arrieta said. "It was great to be able to make that pitch in my first start."
It's too early to annoint him a full-time starter in the major leagues, but it's hard not to look at a rotation in which he joins Brian Matusz and Chris Tillman and see them as the nucleus of the Orioles rotation for many years to come.
"Absolutely,'' Arrieta said. "It's hard not to when you see those guys pitch. The talent they have and the good things they are going to do in the future. Hopefully, I will be able to be part of it."
Associated Press photo