Tillman struggles in debut vs. Jays
Pitcher's outing continues troubling trend for starters
Yet his outing Tuesday — in which he loaded the bases against the heart of the Toronto Blue Jays' lineup in the second inning, only to be pulled back off the cliff and into the dugout by Orioles manager Buck Showalter after reaching his pitch count — fits too comfortably into the growing concern about the club's starting rotation to avoid scrutiny.
It's early for everyone, but for a staff that entered the season with questions, answers have been few.
“They know what the competition is going to be like, and they know the level they're going to have to be at,” Showalter said. “And it's going to have to be more like '14 instead of '15.”
This start was meant to be a challenge for Tillman, whom Showalter wanted to face the highest level of competition possible this spring after his hip flexor strain cost him nearly two weeks of games. He was one of several Orioles starters who regressed in 2015, failing to hit 200 innings for the first time since 2012 and finishing with a 4.99 ERA in 31 starts.
And so his proper spring debut came against a nearly full-strength Blue Jays lineup that has tagged him with a career 5.79 ERA in 20 career starts, including an 11.72 ERA in six 2015 starts.
It ultimately did prove challenging, though nearly every start by an Orioles pitcher of late has proven difficult.
Because he'd thrown only two innings of a “B” game so far this spring, Tillman was pulled after hitting his pitch count of 51 pitches. He recorded just five outs, with the pitch limit preventing a statistical line that would have fit tidily with the rest of the Orioles starters' this spring.
Instead, he allowed two runs, five hits and three walks. Tillman and Showalter felt good about his stuff and how he located it overall, but the appearance had a lot in common with what ailed him in 2015, including a slow start.
Leadoff hitter Kevin Pillar raked a line-drive double off the left-field wall on Tillman's second pitch of the game, and with one out, consecutive singles by Jose Bautista, Troy Tulowitzki and Chris Colabello scored a pair for Toronto. None was particularly well hit — Bautista's was a blooper over shortstop Paul Janish, and Colabello's was only slightly harder.
As was often the case in 2015, the early lead the Orioles staked Tillman to was gone.
In the second inning, it was more dangerous, made worse by the fact that he got two outs — one on a swinging strikeout by Ryan Goins — after a cheap leadoff double to open the frame.
Next came reigning American League Most Valuable Player Josh Donaldson, whom Tillman gave a heavy dose of offspeed pitches en route to a seven-pitch walk, and Bautista, against whom Tillman worked back from a 3-0 count but ultimately walked to load the bases.
Showalter walked out to take the ball from Tillman, and right-hander Tyler Wilson induced a long fly ball to the right-field fence that Nolan Reimold bobbled but caught to end the inning.
It was the secondary pitches that Tillman said let him down.
“I made a lot of good pitches with my fastball and could have stuck with that a bit more, but I wanted to get that feel for the breaking ball, which they made contact with,” Tillman said. “I threw quite a few of them today, and it was good, just a little inconsistent.
“It always takes me a little while to get going [with the curveball], and it's that way throughout the year, too. It was better than it has been in the past, so I was happy with it.”
His fastball command was otherwise where he wanted to be, and Showalter commended his arm strength. There are others on the staff whose performances have been more cause for early concern.
“The results aren't there yet,” Showalter said.
That has been the case more often than not for the Orioles starters this spring. After another solid performance by Wilson (31/3 scoreless innings, two hits), Showalter emphasized that his rotation isn't quite set.
Showalter has lamented the lack of crispness and location from several of his starters over the past week, such as Yovani Gallardo (five earned runs and three home runs allowed in 21/3 innings Monday) and Miguel Gonzalez (six earned runs on seven hits in 12/3 innings Sunday).
Tillman narrowly avoided a similar line but took heart in the fact that he was able to get his work in, even if it was against Toronto. He said he feels fine physically, and will use any opportunity against any competition — however good — to ensure he gets the work he needs to be ready for his first start in April.
“I'm in the position right now because of the hip thing that I did have. I've got to get out there and pitch regardless of who it is and allow me to get myself right,” Tillman said. “It doesn't really matter who's hitting or who we're playing against. I have to be able to get out there and pitch every fifth day.”
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