Orioles and Chris Tillman: Reversing Trends at Tampa Bay
Apr 18, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Chris Tillman (30) pitches the ball during the third inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
The Baltimore Orioles and Chris Tillman will be together looking to reverse some trends as they open a three-game set against the Tampa Bay Rays tonight in Florida.
Tillman will be making his seventh start of the season and will hope to return to the form shown in the first five where he pitched to a 1.71 ERA. His last two starts against Toronto and Pittsburgh featured a particularly bad inning in each – the most recent being a 49-pitch first frame against the Pirates.
The challenge also will be to defeat the trends of 2013 where, in spite of his all-star season, Tillman was 1-3 against the Rays. A few weeks ago he was scheduled to face off at Camden Yards against David Price, but that game was rained out.
So overall for this season, Tillman is 3-1 with a 3.68 ERA. His career numbers against Tampa Bay are not good at all, with a 4.90 ERA and 2-6 record.
|
W
L
ERA
G
GS
IP
H
R
ER
HR
BB
SO
2014 Stats
3
1
3.68
6
6
36.2
37
17
15
5
12
35
Vss. Rays
2
6
4.90
11
11
60.2
54
34
33
16
22
44
MLB Career
35
26
4.24
90
90
509.2
492
260
240
79
184
396
However, there are not a lot of powerful numbers in the current Rays lineup against him. Matt Joyce is about the best at .286 on a 6-for-21 with two homers. Ben Zobrist is only batting .172 against Tillman.
AB |
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SO
BA
Ben Zobrist
29
5
1
0
3
4
3
3
.172
Matthew Joyce
21
6
1
1
2
4
1
7
.286
James Loney
14
2
1
0
0
2
2
1
.143
Desmond Jennings
13
2
1
0
0
2
1
3
.154
Jose Molina
11
1
0
0
0
0
1
2
.091
Yunel Escobar
11
2
0
0
0
0
3
2
.182
David DeJesus
6
2
0
0
0
1
0
0
.333
Sean Rodriguez
4
0
0
0
0
1
0
3
.000
Wil Myers
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
.000
But it is not just Tillman who has struggled recently against the Rays, it is the whole Orioles team effort – particularly in 2013. Though the Orioles are at this moment 2-0 against the Rays this season, last year it was 6-13, including a 3-7 record at The Trop. It can be argued very successfully that the Rays are what prevented the Baltimore Orioles from a return to the playoffs.
To keep a winning effort going for this year against the injury-downtrodden Rays, the Orioles will have to contend with Chris Archer this evening. He is currently 2-1 on the season with a 4.84 ERA. The Orioles hit him well on April 19th in a game where he allowed seven runs in five innings on 12 hits.
W |
L
ERA
G
GS
CG
SHO
SV
SVO
IP
H
R
ER
HR
HB
BB
IBB
SO
AVG
WHIP
GO/AO
2014 Stats
2
1
4.84
6
6
0
0
0
0
35.1
37
19
19
1
1
10
0
28
.270
1.33
1.28
Vss. Orioles
1
2
5.85
4
3
20.0
22
13
13
2
8
18
MLB Career
12
11
3.72
35
33
2
2
0
0
193.1
167
85
80
19
10
61
2
165
.233
1.18
1.06
Though the numbers are not extensive, J.J. Hardy and Manny Machado have hit him well, whereas Adam Jones is hitless in nine appearances.
AB |
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SO
BA
J.J. Hardy
10
4
2
0
0
2
0
2
.400
Adam Jones
9
0
0
0
0
0
1
4
.000
Nick Markakis
9
1
0
0
0
0
0
2
.111
Matt Wieters
9
3
1
0
0
1
0
1
.333
Chris Davis
6
2
1
0
1
3
2
2
.333
Manny Machado
7
3
0
0
0
2
0
1
.429
Nelson Cruz
6
2
1
0
0
1
0
1
.333
David Lough
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
.000
It appears that TJ McFarland will be activated for this evening, and Matt Wieters is the DH with Steve Clevenger catching.