For now, Zach Britton is not listening to Cy Young talk (Tillman to DL)

By any standard, Orioles closer Zach Britton is having a brilliant season. It is a year that could end with Britton becoming the 10th reliever in major league history to win a Cy Young Award.

In 54 games, Britton is 2-1 with an ERA of 0.53 and 38 saves in 38 chances. He has walked 16 and fanned 61 in 51 1/3 innings with a batting average against of .142.

He has not allowed an earned run since April 30. He has gone 43 consecutive games and 41 1/3 innings since then. He has not allowed any runs since giving up three unearned runs on June 21. Since then, he has thrown 25 consecutive scoreless outings.

According to ESPN Stats and Info, the 43 straight appearances without allowing an earned run is the longest streak of its kind since earned runs became an official statistic. All of this is beyond impressive and some national reporters are starting to beat the drum for Britton's Cy Young chances.

Earlier this week, I hosted Britton for a MASN chat with readers on our Facebook page. A fan asked Britton if he had paid attention to the Cy Young talk.

"You know, I really haven't," he said. "It's probably the furthest thing from my mind at this point. There are so many opinions and there are a lot of people that don't think relievers merit consideration, while a lot think that they do.

"If you don't think about it, that is the best way to go about it. I've had people tell me, 'I don't think you should be in the conversation,' and I've had people tell me, 'You should.' So I just avoid it at all costs. As long as we are playing good and winning games, that is really all that matters. If you are not on a winning team, you never even get considered for that stuff anyway.

"The main thing is for us to win and get into the postseason. If you are deserving of awards - and not just me, there are a lot of guys on our team that are deserving of awards - those things can come to you if you are part of a winning team."

The last reliever to win the Cy Young was the Dodgers' Eric Gagne in 2003. The last of four to win the award in the American League was Dennis Eckersley of Oakland in 1992.

So should a reliever merit consideration for the Cy Young?

"I've done both, so I can see both sides of it, starting and relieving," Britton said. "Baseball has really taken a turn to where it is more reliever-oriented now. If you build a dominant bullpen, you can win the World Series like the Royals.

"So the question would be is 200 innings from a starter more valuable than a guy that can affect more games? Starters don't affect as many games, but they impact way more innings. So if a reliever pitches in 70 plus games is that more important to that specific team? That is the question."

Tillman to the DL: The Orioles' chance to win the American League East took a hit last night with the news that 15-game winner Chris Tillman is headed to the disabled list with right shoulder inflammation. The Orioles rotation was inconsistent and 12th in the American League in ERA with Tillman heading it up.

Now they will be without the right-hander until at least Sept. 5. That is the earliest date he can return. But will Tillman be back then and can he return then pitching to the level that he has for most of this year?

Whatever good feelings that came out of the Orioles 8-1 win last night over the Nationals were quickly tempered with the news about Tillman.

The Orioles don't have a suitable replacement or that pitcher would have been in the rotation already. Ubaldo Jimenez (5-10, 6.94 ERA) will start in Tillman's place Thursday in Washington.

Triple-A right-hander Joe Gunkel was scratched from his scheduled start last night, presumably to possibly join the Orioles. But it seems with Jimenez starting Thursday that is probably not happening now. Gunkel is 3-0 with a 1.38 ERA his last five starts.

At Double-A Bowie, right-hander Jason Garcia has pitched to an ERA of 1.77 in August. In his last three starts, Garcia has not thrown more than 72 pitches. Perhaps the club is backing off him a bit since he threw 45 innings in 2015 and is at 108 innings now. Or maybe they are saving some innings for use in Baltimore.

Jimenez will get a shot to step into Tillman's spot on Thursday, but this turn in the rotation comes up again one more time before the rosters can be expanded on Sept. 1.

Can the Orioles overcome the loss of Tillman and still win the AL East? If he misses more than the next 11 days, maybe not. This is probably the time that the Orioles offense needs to try and pick up the slack. They are going to have to figure out some way to offset Tillman's loss for however long it lasts.