In the first-game after the All-Star break, the Baltimore Orioles lost 12-8 to the Chicago White Sox.
Oriole pitchers allowed 7 walks, and 3 homers.
Jason Berken was a couple of outs from getting through the 5th, when he allowed a 3 run homer to Thome.
This has reached the point of being a pattern for Berken, as 7 of his 10 starts have been exactly 5 innings or less.
I think it is clear he is not a Major League starter, and will be replaced in the rotation shortly by Chris Tillman.
Last night, Tillman went 6.2 innings, allowing 1 er, 7 hits, 0 bb’s, with 7 k’s for AAA Norfolk. It was Tillman’s 7th consecutive start of at-least 6 innings.
I can understand the O’s preferring to have Tillman’s first Major League start at home, but I would prefer to see Tillman in New Yankee Stadium vs Berken receiving another start.
For those opposed to seeing Tillman start his career on the road against NY or Boston, I say we are talking about the Major Leagues and you can not hide. Whereever Tillman starts his ML career there will be nerves, I would prefer treating road games against the Yankees, and Red Sox as just another start.
I think choosing to avoid starting on Tillman on the road, sends a message to the player that he should be afraid.
If Tillman comes up, it is not with the expectation of him being a front-line starter immediately. It is with the expecation that he only has to be better than the production received by Berken.
Getting back to the game last-night, there were a couple of positives for the O’s.
Markakis and Jones both homered, Mora had 3 hits, and Roberts, Huff, and Reimold had 2 a piece.
Seeing Markakis pull a ball, and Jones go opposite-field were good to see.
The pitching match-ups were changed right before the series, so today will be Bergesen vs Buehrle.
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Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.