Baltimore Orioles fall on a rainy night

I’m not sure what’s going to be more challenging; gauging Chris Tillman‘s performance last night, or writing a recap about a game that finished up 1-0. In theory it could probably be done in just a few sentences, but I suspect most readers know me better than that…! You can chalk this up as one of those “in the middle” starts for Chris Tillman, who certainly did have some nice moments in the game. Tillman’s line: 6 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 3 K.

Mike Napoli‘s RBI-single in the third inning attests for the lone run of the game in the Orioles’ 1-0 loss. This was a strange game, and as I tweeted in the middle of it, it’s really tough to judge

Courtesy of Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

Tillman based on this start. The game went into a rain delay in the top of the second inning, and again in the third. The first rain delay was a mere ten minutes, but the second was an hour plus. When you figure in the fact that Tillman in essence had to warm up three times in the game, as I said it’s somewhat difficult to truly pass judgement on his outing.

Incidentally that aforementioned tweet wasn’t well-received by all Orioles fans, as a few people tweeted me back and said that was baloney. However keep in mind that pitchers are creatures of habbit and they’re very routine-oriented.

It’s always tough for a pitcher to sit and in effect cool down over a long period of time only to have to warm up again and get back into the game.

While it’s tough to second guess the decision to bring Tillman back out after the second rain delay (given the fact that he only gave up one run), I will say that many teams will go to their bullpen in a situation like that. In fairness, Boston also brought

back out.

Speaking of Workman, the Orioles couldn’t put a hit across against him until the sixth inning when Ryan Flaherty stroked a base hit. Workman shut the Orioles’ offense down with a brilliant performance; the O’s finished with two hits on the game. However as we’ve seen in the past, Oriole bats will come out of a funk like that.

Going back to the “all Manny all the time cycle,” there were a few indications that Machado could drop the appeal of his suspension as early as today. My personal recommendation would be to keep the appeal active – for the time being. Toronto is coming to town starting tomorrow, and given the fact that the Orioles are chasing them it’s a huge series. After Sunday’s series finale the Orioles will head to Tampa for three, and then NY (with Manny’s appeal set for Thursday in NY.)

So my recommendation would be to play through the weekend and then drop the appeal and begin serving the suspension while the Orioles are in Tampa. That’s not to say that you’re sitting in the Tampa series because Tampa has the worst record in the league, but – perhaps that’s part of it. On the other hand, if Manny, the Orioles, and his agent feel that he might actually have a shot at getting a game lopped off of his suspension, then perhaps he should go through the appeal process.

The series with Boston concludes tonight, with Wei-Yin Chen on the mound for the Orioles. He’ll be opposed by Rubby De La Rosa, with game time set for 7 PM.