Reliable Tillman to start opener, AL East notes and more (Tuiasosopo released)

Chris Tillman is dependable.

He thinks that is important, and said that among all the things he can do to help the Orioles, he is most proud of the ability to take the ball every fifth day for his team. They can depend on him to do that.

"For me, that is big," Tillman said. "Numbers are numbers, but when you can go out for your teammates and fans and do your job every fifth day, that is important to me. First, you have to stay healthy and manage your body. I take a lot of pride in doing that. That's a big deal for me."

Dependable and good. And the Orioles No. 1 pitcher and, as of yesterday, officially their opening day starter Monday against Tampa Bay.

This was pretty much among the least surprising news of camp. But Tillman will become the first Oriole since Jeremy Guthrie in 2008-09 to make back-to-back opening day starts.

2008: Jeremy Guthrie
2009: Jeremy Guthrie
2010: Kevin Millwood
2011: Jeremy Guthrie
2012: Jake Arrieta
2013: Jason Hammel
2014: Chris Tillman
2015: Chris Tillman

Tillman has logged back-to-back 200-inning seasons and leads the Orioles making 67 starts the past two seasons. The next highest is the 54 by Wei-Yin Chen and Miguel Gonzalez. Tillman has pitched 413 2/3 innings since 2013. The next best by an Oriole is Gonzalez at 330 1/3 innings.

Tillman is 29-13 with an ERA of 3.52 since the start of the 2013 season. Last year, he went 6-1 with a 2.33 ERA and .218 average against after the All-Star break. The Orioles went 11-1 in his last 12 regular season starts.

While I was at spring training, I asked Tillman the difference between pitching in a spring training game and one in the regular season.

"We want to win in spring - it's important, but it's not end all," he said. "As long as we get what we want out of it and we're not messing up a PFP (pitchers fielding practice) or doing stupid stuff, then we'll be OK. Once April comes, we're leaving everything on the field. It's time to win. We know that and what it's going to take. It's our job now to get ready for that."

When I asked Tillman if he thought the Orioles starting rotation was still underrated, he just shrugged his shoulders. O's rotation not getting its fair due? He's been there, heard that. More than a few times.

"They can say whatever they want, I don't care. We just have to do our jobs," he said.

The Orioles can depend on Tillman to do his job and do it well. They start depending on him again this year Monday at Tropicana Field.

Naming rights deal: The Orioles have said they do not intend to sell naming rights to Oriole Park at Camden Yards, but this week a second Orioles affiliate took that leap.

Leidos and Ripken Baseball on Tuesday officially announced their partnership for naming rights to Ripken Stadium. Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium will become the newly named home of the short-season Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds, pending minor league baseball approval, which is expected. Leidos is a national security, health and engineering solutions company based in Reston, Va., with numerous customers and employees from Aberdeen Proving Ground.

"We are pleased to celebrate this partnership of two dedicated community leaders at this exciting time in the history of Ripken Stadium," said Ripken Baseball chairman and baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr.

"We are thrilled to enter into this significant partnership with Leidos," said Tim Lewis, president and COO of Ripken Baseball in a prepared statement. "The Ripken Way is about perseverance, integrity and an unwavering commitment to be and do our best. Leidos and Ripken Baseball share these core values, which have driven us each to be innovators in our respective industries. We also share a commitment to doing the right things for our customers, our employees and our community, through this partnership."

It is a multi-year partnership for the naming rights. The IronBirds open a new season in the New York-Penn League at home against Hudson Valley on June 19. In August, the IronBirds will host the league's All-Star Game.

In February, the Single-A Frederick Keys and Nymeo Federal Credit Union announced a seven-year agreement for Nymeo to become Harry Grove Stadium's naming rights partner. Starting with the 2015 season, the Keys ballpark will be known as Nymeo Field at Harry Grove Stadium.

AL East notes: The Toronto Blue Jays named right-hander Drew Hutchison their opening day starter for Monday at New York. This will set him up to pitch in their second series of year at Baltimore. Hutchison is 4-1 with an ERA of 2.29 in his two seasons in the bigs against the Orioles.

The expected rotation order for the Jays is likely to be Hutchison, R.A. Dickey, Daniel Norris, Mark Buehrle and Aaron Sanchez.

Based on the expected order for Tampa Bay for next week's opening series there, the Orioles will probably face these opposing starters the first six games: Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi, Nate Karns, Buehrle, Sanchez and Hutchison.

Buehrle would be on the mound for the Camden Yards opener April 10 against the Orioles. Right now, Bud Norris seems likely to make that start after Tillman, Chen and Gonzalez are likely to start the games in St. Petersburg.

Yankees center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury is expected to play in a Grapefruit League game today for the first time since March 15. Out with an oblique strain, he went 2-for-5 in a minor league game Tuesday. He is expected to be ready for the opener. Adam Warren has likely won the fifth starter's job for New York.

Outfielder released: The Orioles have released outfielder Matt Tuiasosopo so that he can pursue other Triple-A opportunities. A non-roster invitee to major league camp, he had gone 0-for-11 with five strikeouts in Orioles games before being reassigned to minor league camp on March 15.

The 28-year-old Tuiasosopo batted .207/.290/.356 in parts of four major league seasons with the Mariners and Tigers. Originally a third-round pick by Seattle in 2004. he played in 81 games with the 2013 Tigers, batting .244/.351/.415 with seven homers and 30 RBIs. He spent last year in Triple-A with Toronto and the Chicago White Sox affiliates, batting .240 in 122 games.

The Orioles had signed him on Dec. 17 to a minor league contract.