BALTIMORE -Despite a terrific start from ace Chris Tillman in which the starter did not yield an earned run, the Orioles’ bats were hushed by Toronto Blue Jays escape artist/5th starter Dustin McGowan who kept the Birds off the board despite multiple threats, in a 2-0 shutout loss.
Tillman’s strong outing saw him throw 105 pitches, 65 for strikes, through eight full innings in which he allowed just three hits with six strikeouts.
Tillman consistently stymied the lineup of Jays mashers including Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista, changing speeds, working quickly, and keeping the ball in the park.
Yet Tillman was the victim of three bad defensive plays in one inning in the Toronto 4th which led to both of the Blue Jay runs. Fill-in 3B Jonathan Schoop made two errors, a throwing error on a routine grounder leading to a base runner, then a failed force-out in a bases loaded situation, scoring a run.
Then a tailor-made double play became anything but when a wild throw from SS Ryan Flaherty bounced in front of the covering Tillman, who couldn’t handle it, leading to the second run, both of which were unearned. At least the third mistake was not scored an error since Flaherty got a force out at second as the double play can’t officially be assumed.
The gaffes were uncharacteristic for the Orioles, a team that set a major league record in 2013 with the fewest error-free games with 119, but the absence of injured stars J.J. Hardy and Manny Machado made a difference.
“Through the years when you look out at that column that says error,” said manager Buck Showalter, “if you’re leading that one, on the bad side of it, you usually don’t like your chances. You play at this level there’s a fine margin of error.”
Sadly for the O’s the two error-induced runs were all the Jays needed. Against McGowan, the Baltimore hitters consistently hit the ball hard, but it wouldn’t go out. Chris Davis smashed two deep balls that were caught in the cool, often-rainy outfield air.
In the 5th, the Orioles loaded the bases with three straight two-out hits, but a deep drive to center by Jones also stayed in, and McGowan again got out of the jam. It was the starter’s first win since 2008, and he went six 1/3 shutout innings before being relieved by Brett Cecil and Sergio Santos, who earned his fourth save.
“Chris just missed a couple, Matty just missed his,” said Showalter. “They (Toronto) hit a couple balls that I thought normally would have carried further too.”
Coming off a positive two-of-three from the Yankees in the Bronx, then an off-day, the Orioles had high expectations for their return home.
Against the Yankees the O’s hit a collective .354 (40-113) and raised their season average in the process from a paltry .229 to a healthy .274. OF/DH Delmon Young had two three-hit games against the Yankees – a team he normally kills – and Jones and Davis also had strong series against the Bombers.
Of course numbers will fluctuate often with fewer at-bats early, and a just a few hits can change stats significantly. However, there is reason to believe the numbers are on target for what this lineup is capable of despite the loss to the Jays.
Top free-agent addition Nelson Cruz homered in his first two games and has looked tough in other games. And all of this production has also been without the offensive services of Machado, who is recovering from an injury late last season, and Hardy, who has been battling back problems.
The strong start from Tillman though represented a change of sorts for the way the season has gone so far with just three quality starts from O’s pitching – Tillman, twice, and Miguel Gonzalez, once. The failure of the Orioles to get solid innings out of their starters last season led to a frequent over-reliance on the pen causing even old reliables like Darren O’Day and Troy Patton to wear out and become ineffective at times, especially late in the season.
Showalter to be sure would like to see more lengthy starts, like Tillman provided against Toronto, rather than continue that disappointing trend and just utilize the pen to keep games close or close them out.
In this game, the Orioles just couldn’t do enough to help Tillman out, either offensively or defensively, and wasted a fine performance.
GAME NOTES
Several Blue Jays broadcasters offered a perspective on the Ervin Santana situation. The Orioles flirted with signing Santana to add to the impressive offseason signing of Ubaldo Jimenez. However, before the Atlanta Braves swooped in to sign Santana at the last minute, it appeared the Blue Jays had the upper hand to land the starter.
According to Blue Jays radio broadcasters Jerry Howarth and Barry Davis, a number of Toronto’s higher-paid stars gathered around in the clubhouse and agreed to defer money and restructure their deals to provide funds to be able to sign Santana, as Howarth explained in a recent Jays radio broadcast.
But, according to Davis, despite the players’ team spirit, it was not meant to be once the Braves lost two key starters and had to pay market rate to land Santana in what was otherwise a down market for the starter.
The good news for the O’s is that it appears the Braves’ move headed off what would likely have been a big signing for a key division rival rather than a pickup for Baltimore despite the strong interest they had shown in Santana, thanks to the Jays’ players offer.
One Response
Interesting take on the game – tough loss.