masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgWhen Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman threw his first seven pitches for balls today and walked the first two batters he faced, we could not have predicted how the rest of his day would go.
He went on to get out of a major jam, stranding the bases loaded in the first, and then threw five scoreless at the Chicago White Sox this afternoon as the Orioles won 4-0 to complete a series sweep in front of 31,806 at Camden Yards.
This is the Orioles’ first three-game home sweep of the White Sox since…

When Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman threw his first seven pitches for balls today and walked the first two batters he faced, we could not have predicted how the rest of his day would go.

He went on to get out of a major jam, stranding the bases loaded in the first, and then threw five scoreless at the Chicago White Sox this afternoon as the Orioles won 4-0 to complete a series sweep in front of 31,806 at Camden Yards.

This is the Orioles’ first three-game home sweep of the White Sox since May 4-6, 1999.

The Orioles have won four in a row to get to 20-10 (.667) after 30 games. They would move back into first place if the Cubs beat the Yankees tonight. The Orioles are 11-3 at home.

Tillman’s solid season debut followed four minor league rehab starts in which his ERA was 7.16 and he allowed 20 hits over 16 1/3. On April 27 he gave up six runs over five innings to the Single-A Potomac Nationals. Five days later he allowed four homers to the Triple-A Charlotte Knights. So much for rehab stats.

If Tillman’s right shoulder feels good over the next few days, this 93-pitch outing will have been a major success. His 2017 season got off to a nice start today. As manager Buck Showalter likes to say, delayed but not denied. The Orioles’ three-time opening day starter is back.

Tillman went five innings, allowing three singles with three walks and four strikeouts. He made liberal use of all his pitches and Chicago went 0-for-5 against him with runners in scoring position. His only 1-2-3 inning was his last one, the fifth.

brad-brach-throwing-front-white.pngRight-hander Alec Asher replaced him to start the sixth and threw 3 1/3 scoreless in long relief. Brad Brach got a game-ending double play to complete the Orioles’ third shutout. It is Brach’s seventh save.

The Orioles backed Tillman with two runs each in the first and second innings for an early 4-0 lead. They scored eight total runs in the first innings of their first 28 games, and then added five in the last two days.

José Quintana, who had pitched to an ERA of 0.64 his last two starts, walked two straight batters with one out in the first. Then Mark Trumbo‘s infield single loaded the bases. A Chris Davis sac fly and Trey Mancini‘s RBI single made it 2-0.

In the second, a bloop RBI single by Adam Jones plated the Orioles’ third run, and Manny Machado‘s line single to left made it 4-0. Machado has 11 RBIs his last 11 games. Mancini and Joey Rickard each had three hits, and Mancini is 8-for-13 over his last four games, raising his average to .297.

Starting catcher Francisco Peña left today’s game before the eighth inning began after he got hurt warming up Asher. It may have been a right thumb injury. We’ll find out more soon.

Today was the 2,000th game for the Birds in the history of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, which opened in 1992. This is the club’s 25th anniversary season at the ballpark.

Now the Orioles play their next four games against the Washington Nationals, with games in Baltimore on Monday and Tuesday and games Wednesday and Thursday at Nats Park. The Orioles are 17-7 versus the Nationals since the 2012 season.