The future again was on display with the Baltimore Orioles last night at the Yard, as rookie Chris Tillman – who has been shining down on the farm in Norfolk – made his long awaited debut in Baltimore on Wednesday. If you look at the rotation going into the year, versus today, it’s amazing the turnover that has taken place, especially with four rookies in the starting rotation.
When the dust settled, Baltimore won for only the third time in twelve games as they beat Kansas City, 7-3, thanks to breaking a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning thanks to a Nick Markakis 2 RBI-single along with a Royals bullpen that let the game go. Before Nick’s big hit, the Orioles tied the game off an Adam Jones RBI-double. The Orioles added two more runs in the eighth inning off a Marakais two-run single.
The offense scuffled against Zack Greinke – a Cy Young Award Candidate – and he went six innings, and gave up two runs – courtesy of an Adam Jones two-run homer in the first inning for his 17th of year (he’s now homered in three straight games). After the Orioles got their runs off Greinke in the first, he settled and looked like one of the best pitchers in the American League.
However, the story of the night was Chris Tillman. Only 21, and from what I have heard, the fourth youngest pitcher to make his major league debut in 40 years, he showed a lot of promise, but had his ups and downs throughout the night.
Tillman only lasted 4 2/3 innings, and struggled with his pitches on the night. He gave up three runs – all solo shots to Alberto Callapso in the second, Miguel Olivo in the third, and Mike Jacobs in the fourth. On the night, Tillman struck out two and allowed seven hits.
My impression of him was that he has a lot of promise, and perhaps was nervous, but he needs to be more consistent, mix his pitches, and show some command on the mound. With no disrespect to the Royals, Tillman might be able to get away with that performance against them, but not a powerhouse lineup like the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, etc.
To make room for Tillman, Rich Hill was put on the disabled list. You’ve got to wonder if he had been pitching hurt and perhaps did more harm than good,; therefore, the Orioles took advantage of the injury and DL’ed Hill to avoid putting him on waivers.
As well, by virtue of his decent start on Tuesday, Jason Berken perhaps earned a repreive from the talks of he being sent down the minors, which is a good thing. He had a bad inning in the his last two starts that perhaps got him into trouble, but as with anything in the game, you’ve got to be consistent and effective — and Berken needs to do that.
