It was an ugly showing for the Baltimore Orioles as they got trounced by the Kansas City Royals, 9-1, this afternoon.
They only got four hits – all singles – and Chris Tillman, who started the game on the mound for Baltimore struggled. Again.
Adam Jones drove in the only run for Baltimore during first inning and the offense was putrid. Enough said.
I don’t know what to say about Tillman. He has the look of a guy who should be stud-like on the mound; however, he’s been so inconsistent as a pitcher in the majors. There have been times Tillman has looked brilliant; meanwhile, during others, he looks like a guy who has no confidence on the mound, or a clue as to what to do when in trouble.
He allowed eight runs in 3 2/3 innings of work and it’s time to wonder if he – instead of Brad Bergesen – will be the odd man out in the rotation, if and when Brian Matusz returns.
At the moment, manager Buck Showalter has given the dreaded vote of confidence — to an extent.
From the Baltimore Sun: “He’s a young pitcher, the younger pitcher on our staff, I believe,” Showalter said. “He certainly has some things that challenge inexperienced pitchers that he’s got to work through. … The way he started out, I thought he was going to pitch pretty well. Stuffwise, he was in better shape than he has been in the past. But he’s got to do better than that. We all know that.”
Showalter was asked by MASN’s Gary Thorne whether Tillman would remain in the rotation, and he said: “As far as I’m concerned. He’s going to have to get better. Our options are him and a few others.”
There’s not much else more to say. Tillman – at times – is frustrating to watch. Until he starts to improve, the Orioles will undoubtedly run out patience with the hurler. We know he can pitch at Triple-A and succeed, but can that translate to the majors?
I do hope Tillman figures it. If not, the Orioles may make the mistake of giving up on him.
As for the Royals, former Oriole Bruce Chen flat-out dominated on the hill. There’s a reason why Bruce Chen has been with dozen or more organizations; however, with the Royals, he’s a man re-born. I don’t know the secret to his success, but he’s able to locate, pitch to contact and get outs. It’s just remarkable what he’s done in Kansas City.
