Bob Haynie: Tillman's Ace Performance Lifts Orioles Over The Sox
After winning the opener, the Baltimore Orioles lost three-straight games to the Toronto Blue Jays over the past weekend. During that series, Baltimore starting pitchers posted an unsightly 8.31 ERA. Ubaldo Jimenez's 0.1 IP outing on Sunday was downright embarrassing.
In need of a quality start, manager Buck Showalter turned to right-hander Chris Tillman to get it done. On Tuesday night against the Boston Red Sox, the Orioles ace was up to the challenge.
Tillman pitched seven strong innings to out-duel Boston ace David Price as the Birds edged the Red Sox 3-2 at Fenway Park. With the victory, the Orioles (37-26) moved back into sole possession of first place in the AL East.
Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop went deep as the Orioles improved to 5-3 against Boston (36-27) in 2016. Since the beginning of 2012, the Birds are now 51-32 overall vs. the Red Sox.
Tillman scattered five hits and struck out seven as he improved to 9-1 on the year. If he continues to pitch at this level, he would seem to be a lock to make the AL All-Star team.
Aside from Tillman and Kevin Gausman, the Orioles have a shaky starting rotation. RHP Yovani Gallardo returns to the staff on Saturday and that should help. However, there are more uncertainties than certainties going on at this time.
As I have talked about and written before, the Birds need to stabilize their starting pitching if they want to play postseason baseball. Maybe help will eventually come from outside the organization. GM Dan Duquette has made in-season moves before with varying levels of success.
As good as Machado and Mark Trumbo have been with the bats and as lights-out as Zach Britton has been as closer, Chris Tillman has been just as good as the Orioles best starting pitcher.
Given the woes of the rest of the starters, where would this team be without him?
