For a while, Chris Tillman was the only piece working on the Orioles rotation. But if their latest win over Washington is any indication, the Orioles have other plans.
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Who knows how long Tillman will be out, but with the Orioles locked in a battle for the division and a wildcard spot, it’s certainly not good.
The same shoulder forced Tillman to miss a start on August 17 and was pushed back on August 20 to give him eight days rest.
Starter Wade Miley (8-10) did the job, allowing two runs on seven hits and striking out five in five-plus innings with what manager Buck Showalter felt was a crisper fastball than usual.
Orioles: Chris Tillman will be headed to the 15-day DL Wednesday with shoulder inflammation. I’m not going to get into critiquing what our other options are. They tallied three more runs in the third, with Jonathan Schoop driving in one on a double before Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy committed a costly bases-loaded error that plated two runs.
Tillman’s bullpen session before Tuesday’s game “did not go well”, [Buck] Showalter [Orioles Manager] said earlier Tuesday.
Baltimore closer Zach Britton saw his remarkable streak of 43 straight games without allowing an earned run end, then shut down a ninth-inning rally to help the Orioles hold off the Washington Nationals 10-8 Wednesday night.
“I thought once it got loose it would really go away, but it never really did, and that was my first time actually experiencing it while throwing”, Tillman said.
“We”ll have a better idea then,” Showalter said. “I think we’ve got three back days and an off day, so we’ve got 11 days to try to resolve some of the things he’s feeling, hopefully”.
The Orioles beat the Nationals 8-1 but still sit two games back of the Red Sox and Blue Jays, who share the AL East lead now.
“We are going to miss him on the mound”, center fielder Adam Jones said. “There’s so many land mines through their order that you’ve got to keep grinding”. We’ve kind of put them in some tough situations.
The Birds’ two wins salvaged a 3-5 home stand after the O’s lost five of their first six.
With his single in the seventh, Trea Turner tied the Montreal Expos/Nationals franchise record with hits in eight consecutive plate appearances.
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Davis connected in the eighth against Yusmeiro Petit.
