Checking on Guthrie (and updating Tillman)

By Roch Kubatko

Orioles

March 27, 2011, 10:23am

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SARASOTA, Fla. - While the Orioles are playing the Red Sox today at Ed Smith Stadium, Jeremy Guthrie is making his final exhibition start against the Blue Jays in Dunedin. According to the box score, Guthrie has allowed four runs and eight hits in three innings, with one walk, one strikeout, one wild pitch and one hit batter. The Sun's Dan Connolly tweets that Guthrie has thrown 65 pitches, 42 for strikes. Yunel Escobar homered off Guthrie in the third. Guthrie's spring ERA has jumped to 7.50. Everything will be fine once the season starts, right? No reason to worry about the Orioles' pitching, right? Just checking. It's often wise to look beyond spring numbers. That's especially good advice when looking at the starters' ERAs beyond Zach Britton. Update: Chris Tillman has allowed three runs and six hits through five innings, with three walks and two strikeouts. He's thrown 83 pitches, 50 for strikes. He just retired the Red Sox in order in the fifth, easily his best inning of the day. Guthrie has allowed four runs and 10 hits in four innings in Dunedin.