Written by Eddie Matz at ESPN.com
If the Baltimore Orioles’ goal for Wednesday was a revenge win, then Chris Tillman was just the guy for the job.
“The biggest payback is beating ’em,” said Buck Showalter before Wednesday’s series finale with the Kansas City Royals. Then, a day after superstar Manny Machado got drilled by Kansas City starter Yordano Ventura, Showalter’s team went out and beat ’em 4-0, thanks in large part to seven-plus shutout innings from Tillman, who struck out nine and improved to 8-1 on the season.
His latest virtuoso performance served as an emphatic reminder that, despite his rough 2015, despite the signing of free agent Yovani Gallardo, despite the buzz surrounding 2012 first-rounder Kevin Gausman, Tillman is the ace of Baltimore’s staff.
On an unseasonably cool Baltimore night when the Birds needed an even coole presence on the mound, Tillman was just what the doctor ordered. As stoic and even-keeled as they come, the 28-year old right-hander is as unlikely a candidate as there is in baseball to go rogue and plunk an opposing hitter out of a misplaced sense of vengeance. Heck, he barely even ventured out of the strike zone the entire night.
Besides tying a career high with the nine strikeouts, Tillman didn’t issue a single walk, just the second time this season he’s done that. What’s more, he threw 74 percent of his 110 pitches for strikes, his second-highest rate in 162 career starts. The crowd appreciated his steadying influence, giving him a stout standing ovation when he left the game in the top of the eighth, just as they’d risen to their feet earlier in support of Machado when he stepped to the plate for the first time. Tillman’s teammates appreciated his Zen-like performance too.
“Coming off of yesterday, the adrenaline’s pumping,” said veteran closer Zach Britton, “but right away Tilly settled it all down and cruised. He did what we needed.”
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