With the playoffs underway, and some of Major League Baseball’s biggest names on display, fans have been treated to outstanding pitching performances by some of the game’s best arms.
Even before the postseason arrived David Price got the week started in game no. 163 to decide who would face the Cleveland Indians in the AL wild card game. All he did was allow seven hits, one walk, and two earned runs in a complete game performance to ensure the Rays lived to play another day. Yes, in game two of the ALDS he was roughed up by the Red Sox but without his outing in Texas versus the Rangers his team might not have had the opportunity to be in a division series.
Francisco Liriano took to the hill in the NL wild card game Tuesday and held the Cincinnati Reds to four hits and one run over seven innings, rendering Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips useless, to help the Pirates grab the victory.
Wednesday, it was Alex Cobb’s turn in the AL wildcard game against the Cleveland Indians. 6.2 innings later the Indians were looking at 3-0 deficit, one they weren’t able to overcome. Cobb wasn’t razor sharp, but he was able to get out of jams in crucial situations. And when his shift on the mound was done the Indians had a zero in the run column on the scoreboard.
Thursday saw Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals strike out nine over seven innings, giving up just three hits and one run, as St. Louis won the first game of their series with the Pittsburgh Pirates. In the nightcap Clayton Kershaw was, well, in a word, dominant. Over seven innings the probable NL Cy Young Award winner surrendered three hits and one run. Kershaw also racked up 12 strikeouts. The Braves struck out a ton during the regular season (1,384 times to tie for the National League lead) and Kershaw led the league in strikeouts with 232 so perhaps it was expected. And Kershaw delivered.
Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander flexed their muscles for the Detroit Tigers Friday and Saturday. Scherzer struck out 11 over seven innings, allowing three this and two runs to the Oakland A’s. Verlander followed the next day with 11 strikeouts of his own, shutting out the A’s over seven innings while holding them to four hits.
Watching the abovementioned guys do their thing, in games of utmost importance, I couldn’t help but think about someone of their quality in an Orioles uniform. As if there needed to be a reminder of how much of a luxury it is to have a legitimate top-of-the-rotation starter, we’ve received several over the past week.
Can you be a competitive team without one? Yes, you can. Can you be a good team without one? Sure. But having one certainly makes life easier.
Chris Tillman is evolving, but he isn’t there yet. At the moment he’s the only member of the Orioles rotation that ended the season who looks to have the potential to be a guy Buck Showalter can call on in a game against Price, Wainwright, etc. and have O’s fans feel the pitching matchup isn’t completely one-sided.
Perhaps Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman will one day be a 1-2 punch capable of countering the likes of a Scherzer/Verlander, Kershaw/Greinke, Price (if he remains in Tampa)/Cobb combo in a series (regular season or postseason). Add in Tillman and you would have an extremely solid three fifths of a starting rotation that, when not squaring off against a top end pitching staff, would inspire a feeling closer to the side of confidence and further from cautious optimism.
Until that happens though, mostly because pitchers of the quality being discussed aren’t made available via trade too often, it feels like Oriole fans will be forced to watch those generally considered “aces” (or in the tier just below) calling ballparks not named Oriole Park at Camden Yards home for the foreseeable future.
