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O’s Fans Should be Encouraged by Tillman’s First Outing

Chris Tillman of the Baltimore Orioles pitches.
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All things considered, it was a successful first outing for Chris Tillman. The former All-Star tossed five innings of shutout ball, limiting the White Sox to three hits while throwing 93 pitches in his return to big league action.

The Orioles couldn’t have asked for much more from their veteran starter, who missed all of spring training with a nagging shoulder injury that first presented itself last August, and then re-appeared in December.

Tillman would eventually require both a platelet rich plasma injection and a cortisone injection before the discomfort subsided. Four rehab starts later and Tillman found himself leading the Orioles to a three-game series sweep of the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.

There were concerns heading into Tillman’s 2017 debut, mainly over his 7.16 ERA and seven home runs surrendered in his four rehab starts. Though he did his best to quell those concerns, he and the Orioles aren’t out of the woods yet as it remains to be seen how he feels the day after his start.

One of the other concerns was about the down-tick in his velocity over the rehab starts. Usually topping out in the mid-90’s with his fastball, Tillman routinely sat in the 88-91 MPH range on Sunday. He velocity should head north as his season progresses and he reaches mid-season form.

Tillman lacked the usual command of his fastball, as evidenced by the seven three-ball counts and three walks he pitched himself into in the game’s first three innings. His secondary pitches kept him out of trouble, and he did finally settle in as he registered zero walks or three-ball counts over his final two innings. He retired 14 of his final 18 hitters on the day.

People often make mountains out of molehills when it comes to spring training numbers, or in Chris Tillman’s case, rehab stats. The bottom line is that Tillman is a veteran, and he knows how to pitch when the lights come on. The Orioles and their fanbase should be enthused by his first start.

And if he makes in through tomorrow without any discomfort, he should add quite a bit to what has already become a fun season.

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