Chris Tillman – Baltimore Magazine

Experts Pick O’s to Finish Last. Whatever.

Ron Cassie — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 16:06:00 +0000

Cam Newton and Teammates Crash Rash Field Volleyball

Ron Cassie — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 15:05:00 +0000

Thank you, Chris Tillman.
There are two names in baseball jargon for the role Tillman has filled this season. One is “ace” obviously, as in the ace of the starting pitching staff. The other is “stopper,” which is what the big right-hander did yesterday in personally putting an end to the O’s four-game skid. The two runs the Orioles put up in the first were all they needed. Tillman allowed just four hits and one run over seven innings to move to 14-2 on the year. The O’s have now won 18 of 21 games he’s started overall—the best total in the big leagues. This guy’s every start has become must-watch for us.

Sports are heartwarming. Honestly, we’d never heard of Donnie Hart before his first appearance on the hill the other night for the O’s. But the sidewinding left-hander, recently called up by Buck Showalter from Bowie made three appearances this week, including his major-league debut, without allowing a run. The best part was that his family was on hand. This is what the 25-year-old Hart said in the locker room afterward: “I didn’t really notice them until [the stadium announcer] said something about I’m making my major league debut and then I could hear my mom.” Hart recounted with a smile. “That’s one voice I can always hear no matter how people are in the stands.”

Charm City Youth Lacrosse wins its first title. Founded by former Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler, the Charm City Youth Lax League has been providing free lacrosse training, league play, and mentoring to underserved Baltimore City youth since 2009. A couple of weeks ago, Charm City’s U-11 squad, coached by Pace Kessenich, who played at the Naval Academy and was head coach at Colgate University, the boys won all five of their games at the 22^nd annual Lax Max tourney in Westminster.Check their website and the kids themselves will you what the program means to them.

Katie for the win. A quick shout out to North Carroll High grad Katie Zaferes, who captured her first World Triathlon Series win after getting named to the U.S. Olympic squad. Zaferes, 26, won a couple of Maryland state track and field titles in high school and then went on to compete at Syracuse University. We’re keeping an eye out for her Aug. 20 in Rio.

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Ravens John Urschel to Play Against U.S. Chess Champion

Jess Mayhugh — Fri, 20 May 2016 12:43:23 +0000

Chris Tillman is bright light in series against his former team.
We admit that this week wasn’t the best for the Orioles, who lost the series to the Seattle Mariners. But the good news is that we’re still tied for first place in the division and that the three-game series had some shining moments.

One was Joey Rickard’s amazing defensive skills. And certainly another was Chris Tillman’s outing on Wednesday night against his former team. Tillman held the Mariners to two runs for 6 1/3 innings, making this his sixth quality start and holding his ERA steady at 2.61. Whether it’s a coincidence or not, Tillman remains undefeated against his former team. With characteristic modesty, the pitcher told The Sun that the win had very little to do with him. “We just seem to swing the bats well every time I pitch against these guys,” Tillman said. “A big defense night for us tonight, too . . . We took some really good swings off a really good pitcher.”

Towson and Loyola’s lacrosse teams will duke it out in NCAA quarterfinal.
Coming off of an upset over the No. 2 Denver Pioneers on Sunday, the Towson Tigers lacrosse team heads to Ohio to take on regional rivals Loyola. Just a few short years ago, the Loyola Greyhounds were considered the fierce and persistent underdogs in the Maryland lacrosse world, but now Towson is reminding us of a team with that same tenacity.

“To go out and beat the No. 2 see really showed the kind of team that we are,” Towson redshirt senior midfielder Ben McCarty told The Sun. “We were really happy to get that win.” The Tigers better keep that fire going when they meet the Greyhounds (13-3) in an NCAA quarterfinal Sunday at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The two teams have already met earlier this year, when Towson defeated Loyola for the first time since 2007.

“Playing Towson is awesome because they’re close to home,” sophomore long-stick midfielder Zac Davliakos told The Sun. “We know they beat us last time. It really gets you fired up to go out there and try to put your best foot forward.” Watch it all go down on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. on ESPNU.

Ravens’ draft pick Chris Moore plans to give out footballs to fans.
ESPN’s Jamison Hensley had a great story on its website this week about Ravens fourth-round draft pick Chris Moore. Last Christmas Eve, the University of Cincinnati wide receiver got flagged for a unsportsmanlike penalty after he gave away the ball from a 47-yard pass to a young fan at the Hawaii Bowl.

“I was more upset that they took the ball from the kid,” Moore told ESPN. “After the game, I gave him all my stuff and all the gear I could. I felt bad.”

So it’s music to Moore’s ears that, unlike in college football, there is no penalty when players give out a football to the crowd. But, his first touchdown catch won’t be going to a fan. “Every other one after that, they can have them,” he said. “I’m not going to lie about that. The first one has to go to mom.”

After that, though, expect Moore to be handing out footballs Cam Newton-style. Moore is known for going deep—his 21.8 yards per reception in 2015 was ranked eighth in the nation, and he finished with 26 career touchdowns. “When I got the phone call on draft day, I got real excited. I know Joe Flacco has that cannon,” Moore told ESPN. “I love to go deep and I love to make the big plays and get the fans into the game.”

We like this guy already!

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Ravens Owner Pays for Team to Attend Tray Walker’s Funeral

Ron Cassie — Fri, 25 Mar 2016 18:07:00 +0000

Owner Steve Bisciotti offers to pay the way for every Baltimore Raven to attend Tray Walker’s funeral Saturday.
Walker, a first-year cornerback who died in a motorbike accident last week, certainly wasn’t the best known, or longest-tenured, Raven, but Bisciotti’s gesture—and his and coach John Harbaugh’s thoughtful words—were heartfelt reminders that the loss of every young person’s life is a tragedy.

“We have two sons not too much older than Tray, and we can’t imagine how much his family is suffering. This is so sad,” Bisciotti said on Friday. “The right words are hard to find at a time like this. As much as we can comfort Tray’s mom and the rest of his family, we will.”

“[I] was just thinking about Tray’s mom,” Harbaugh said. “It’s not a situation that you ever want to imagine yourself in. I’m sure we all feel that way with our kids. You don’t even want to think about what that would be like, yet, here she is and she has to live that reality.”

The Terps lose to the Jayhawks in the Sweet 16.
Similar to the way the season unfolded, the Terps flashed a lot of potential against No. 1 seed Kansas before falling apart down the stretch. Maryland mostly outplayed Kansas during the opening half, but ultimately lost by 15. With multiple possible NBA picks in its starting lineup, the Terps were simply a team that was less than the sum of its parts all season. They were out-rebounded 22-8 in the second half by Kansas—as good as stat as any to highlight that this talented Terps squad lacked grit this season.

Maryland women lose to Washington, but win in the classroom.
We had high hopes for the Maryland women this March, who displayed tremendous resilience this season in winning the Big Ten title for the second straight year after the transfer of star point guard Lexi Brown. But what’s the most revealing stat about the Maryland women’s team? Three starters, Brionna Jones, Kristen Confroy, and Malina Howard, are pre-med major who plan on becoming doctors.

The O’s Kevin Gausman gets a cortisone shot and our starting rotation looks as shaky as ever.
Gausman, the Orioles’ would-be budding young Jim Palmer, received a cortisone shot this week for shoulder tendinitis and it barely registered a blip because of the injury/physical well-being discussions around seemingly the entire staff, including Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz, Yovani Gallardo, and Dylan Bundy. No wonder the O’s are rumored to be in talks about acquiring James Shields from the San Diego Padres. At 34, Shields, once one of the game’s best pitchers, is on the downward side of his career, but he may offer short-term help. Otherwise, we’re going to have to do a lot of what we did in Friday’s spring training win over the Yankees—hit five HRs just to scrape by with an 11-10 victory.

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Orioles Stud of the Week

Ron Cassie — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 11:14:00 +0000

Forget the movie Moneyball. A great vehicle for Brad Pitt maybe, but a film that conveniently ignored a key baseball tenet: Great starting pitching wins championships. And the Oakland A’s of the Moneyball-era had three dominating starters—Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Barry Zito. As any O’s fan knows, our own starting pitching has been inconsistent at best, so it’s been been a welcome sight to see last year’s breakout star return to form recently.

Stud of the Week for June 22-30:
Chris Tillman

The Line:
The 26-year-old went 1-0 last week, allowing just four hits and a walk in eight innings against Tampa Bay on Friday night.

Studliest Moment:
After allowing a leadoff home run in the top of the second, Tillman set the next seven Rays down in order to re-establish control of the game. After having dropped the first game of the doubleheader, the O’s needed Tillman to respond with a great outing to salvage a split and the right-hander delivered.

The Clincher:
After a long rocky stretch, Tillman appears to have regained some velocity and command on his fastball and suddenly he again looks like the pitcher that won 16 games last season. Over the last month, he’s gone 3-2, averaging more than seven innings a start while posting a 2.78 era.

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Orioles Stud of the Week

Jess Mayhugh — Mon, 19 May 2014 12:07:00 +0000

Orioles coverage sponsored by Baltimore Marriott Waterfront

We’re not going to lie—this week was rough. From Tuesday’s ninth-inning choke that felt like a punch in the gut to news of Matt Wieters getting a plasma injection in his elbow to our bats being completely silenced in Kansas City on Saturday, it hasn’t been easy being an Orioles fan lately.

But there was a silver lining that came in the form of starting pitcher’s first career shutout on Friday night.

Stud of the Week for May 12-18:
Chris Tillman

The line:
In his nine starts, Tillman has a record of 4-2, striking out 43 and earning him an ERA of 3.34 (20th best in the league).

Studliest moment:
On Friday night, Tillman completed his first career shutout, an efficient 117-pitch game that led the Orioles to a 4-0 victory over the Royals (our only of the series). The starter only allowed five hits and one walk and was strong through the eighth. Manager Buck Showalter thankfully sent him back out for the complete game.

The clincher:
Tillman showed grace under pressure from the very beginning when Royals outfielder Nori Aoki hit a leadoff double in the first inning. But he got out of it unscathed on just 12 pitches. “That was huge,” the pitcher told
MLB.com on Friday. “There were a lot of early swings and early outs. Any time you get that, it really helps. I hate walking guys. It’s one of my pet peeves because that cuts down your chances of getting deep in the ballgame. Tonight, I was able to attack the zone and stay ahead.”

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Orioles Stud of the Week

Jess Mayhugh — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 10:20:00 +0000

Orioles coverage sponsored by Baltimore Marriott Waterfront

Continuing our tradition from last year, the editors here at
Baltimore magazine will be picking an Oriole with the best performance every week all season long.

Admittedly, the O’s have gotten off to a rough start (with a very taxing schedule), but we don’t think it’s any coincidence that our two wins have come when this guy is on the rubber.

Stud of the Week for March 31-April 6:
Chris Tillman

The line:
In his two starts so far (against arguably the MLB’s best teams in Boston and Detroit), Tillman has only given up two earned runs in 13.5 innings, earning him an ERA of 1.35.

Studliest moment:
Tillman’s performance yesterday was that of a bonafide ace, saving the Orioles from a sweep by the Detroit Tigers. The 25-year-old pitcher outplayed former Cy Young Award winner and MVP Justin Verlander, throwing a career-high 8.1 innings, only allowing six base runners and striking out five. Our favorite moment was seeing Tillman still on the mound in the ninth inning (no other O’s starter has gone more than six this year).

The clincher:
After the game yesterday, while Tillman’s teammates and manager were hurling praise at him, he responded with characteristic modesty: “In order to get to where we want to go, we got to play against the best,”
he told MLB.com. “So I think we have a good group of guys, and that’s our team mentality, not just me.”

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