From 2 and 16 to 2 and 0. Pitching, defense and a three-run homer. Somewhere Earl Weaver must have enjoyed tonight's 3-1 win over Tampa. For someone like me that enjoys pitching and defense more than a high-scoring game, these have been two very fun games to watch. Yes, like many of you I will bet, I thought Ben Zobrist had hit a game-winning, three-run homer. But it didn't happen and Nick Markakis, maybe the best fielder in the game today without a gold glove, made a superb, game-saving catch to end it. Chris Tillman followed up on what Jeremy Guthrie started and pitched a gem. He wasn't hitting the mid 90s, but he mixed the pitches well and threw some very nice secondary pitches, as Guthrie had the night before. He and Wieters were in synch just like the previous night as well. Of everything that happened tonight, Tillman's excellent outing was the biggest development.
That is 14 scoreless innings by O's starters so far. The solid defense started with a Mark Reynolds sliding catch in foul territory and ended with Markakis at the wall. In between, Roberts made a nice play up the middle and Felix Pie threw a runner out at the plate with a terrific throw and a good job by Wieters on the other end. When Tillman left the game I was not upset. I didn't figure he would be given the chance to throw more than 101 pitches and no-hit bid or not, Buck was not going to let him go much farther than that. The O's had just one hit tonight with runners in scoring position and it was B-Rob's dramatic three-run homer. He now has 5 RBI in the two wins. So this season is starting a little better than the last one. At last check, Boston was getting bombed tonight by Texas and could start 0-2. Maybe Buck Showalter's comments is not their biggest issue right now.