Better, but not enough
Orioles Tillman outdueled by Indians’ Clevinger in 4-0 loss
Progress for Chris Tillman wasn’t enough to earn him his first win in just under a year Saturday against the Cleveland Indians, but the Orioles right-hander took a step toward emerging from the hole created by three miserable starts to open the season.
In the Orioles’ 4-0 loss at Camden Yards – a setback that dropped the team to 6-15 as Cleveland right-hander Mike Clevinger tossed a two-hit shutout – Tillman displayed better control against a dangerous Indians lineup, but was done in by three solo home runs.
Had the Orioles offense done more to support Tillman, the improvement would’ve been more impactful. But now 21 games into the season, scoring runs has been a struggle. The Orioles have scored two runs or fewer nine times and scored three runs or fewer 14 times. Saturday’s game marked the second time in this young season that the Orioles were on the wrong end of a complete-game shutout. The Minnesota Twins’ José Berríos also accomplished that on April 1.
“He was better,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of Tillman. “Obviously, there was very little margin for error with Clevinger. Did some things a lot better, somewhat better and hopefully it’s something to build on. What did he give up, three solo home runs? Usually, that type of outing gives us a quality chance to win. There were a couple pitches he’d probably like to have back. Got out of that first inning, but we just didn’t do much. The story was their pitcher and our inability to solve much off him. Hit a couple balls hard, that’s about it. More than that a little bit. I thought a couple guys hit balls they ran down.”
Tillman, who entered the day with an 11.91 ERA, had his longest start of the season at six innings, but struggled to get throug his final frame. He overcame some early control problems. He threw two wild pitches in the first two innings, including one that eventually led to the game’s first run being scored on Michael Brantley’s RBI groundout in the first inning. He also received some help defensively. A double-play ball got Tillman out of a two-on, one-out jam in the third. Catcher Chance Sisco threw out Brantley attempting to steal second to empty the bases before Yonder Alonso hit Cleveland’s third homer off Tillman in the sixth.
“[Had] command with all the pitches really,” Tillman said. “I was able to use both sides of the plate with the fastball and I think that’s all a big help. My off-speed was there for the most part. … It was a big stepping stone. Anytime you’re able to find your command, I think that’s the first part of any process. … It was there for the most part throughout the game.”
The command problems that plagued Tillman (0-4) in his previous outing improved, after he allowed seven runs (six earned) in two innings on April 13 in Boston, prompting the Orioles to skip his turn in the rotation to give him two work days to battle through his struggles.
Showalter cautioned, however, that you need to know what the goal is in doing so. If Sisco continues on his current trajectory, the end game of this early-season platoon might become clear quickly.
Sisco, on an otherwise fallow day for the Orioles offense, had a hit and a walk in three trips to the plate, but more importantly threw out all three attempted base stealers Cleveland sent on him — Brantley in the sixth inning, Francisco Lindor in the seventh and Rajai Davis in the ninth.
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