Jason Hammel didn't give up a hit until the seventh inning of Saturday's 5-0 win against the Atlanta Braves and put together one of the best outings by an Orioles pitcher in recent memory.

Hammel retired 17 of the first 18 batters he faced during the complete-game shutout. He struck out eight and allowed two walks, while tossing 103 pitches during the nine frames.

A knee injury in May seemed to derail Hammel a bit, but he's 7-2 now, with a 2.82 ERA. Hammel, acquired with reliever Matt Lindstrom, was part of a deal that sent Jeremy Guthrie to Colorado. Guthrie, if you're keeping track at home, is 3-5, has a 6.91 ERA, has given up 15 home runs and the opposition is batting .326 against him. You read that. The odds of Guthrie sticking in the rotation with the Rockies are slim.

To say the Orioles have gotten a steal out of that deal would be an understatement. Hammel has developed into a top-shelf starter, who occasionally falters.

Dan Duquette, the Orioles' executive vice president of baseball operations, took serious gambles on deals that brought Hammel and Wei-Yin Chen to Baltimore, and both have paid off in spades. It's just too bad the in-house arms have not matched their level. If they did consistently, the Orioles would have a comfortable lead in the AL East.

Posted June 16, 2012