Despite mixed results, Chris Tillman feels ready to rejoin O's

WOODBRIDGE, Va. - Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman made his third minor league rehab start here tonight. Pitching for Single-A Frederick, he gave up six runs to the Potomac Nationals at Pfitzner Stadium. But despite a shaky pitching line, Tillman said felt great and he feels ready to join the Orioles' rotation and make his 2017 season debut.

Tillman expects that decision to be made after he throws a side session Sunday. He could pitch for the Orioles on Tuesday in Boston or make another rehab start. Orioles pitching coach Roger McDowell was among a small crowd that watched Tillman pitch tonight.

The right-hander is on the road back from shoulder discomfort which led him to undergo a platelet-rich plasma injection in December and a cortisone shot in the middle of March. Now, with three outings and 11 1/3 innings under his belt, he feels ready to pitch for the Orioles if club management agrees that he's ready.

An error by third baseman Jomar Reyes and two infield hits contributed to the Nationals' three-run second inning, but Tillman allowed two well-struck balls that did damage an inning later, yielding Taylor Gushue's two-run homer and a triple on the next pitch to Rhett Wiseman, who scored on a sac fly.

Tillman's final line: five innings, eight hits, six runs, four earned runs, one walk, two strikeouts and one home run. He threw 71 pitches, 48 for strikes. He took the loss as Potomac beat Frederick 7-1 and has an ERA of 7.20 through two starts with Double-A Bowie and tonight with Frederick.

His fastball topped out at 91 mph on scout radar guns and he had his best innings to end his outing with scoreless frames on 24 pitches in the fourth and seven pitches in the fifth.

Does Tillman feel ready to rejoin the O's rotation?

"Yeah, I felt good," he said in the visiting clubhouse. "I felt like I could compete tonight. Especially later, got better as I went. We'll have to talk about it and see where we're at.

"I think it was, by far, probably my best one. The results weren't great, but for the most part, I made some really good pitches. I missed with a couple here and there. The ones they did damage on, I thought it was the right pitch."

Tillman knows fans will see his pitching line and feel he's not ready for a start in the majors, but he said he doesn't put any stock in the line.

"Zero. Zero," he said. "I mean, you all saw it. I thought for the most part, it was pretty good. Here and there, I was off with my fastball command to the glove side, but that was very rare. For the most part, I thought changeup was good. Cutter/slider was good. Curveball, I didn't throw it until later in the game and it came along well."

The young Nationals were certainly motivated to show they could hit a big league pitcher and some made solid contact. Several swung at the first pitch or early in the count. But Tillman compared this to a spring training game, where a pitcher evaluates more than the results.

Tillman's velocity came up short of his usual readings. Scouts had him mostly in the high 80s with his fastball, but it ticked up a bit later in the game and he touched 91 mph.

"I don't even know what they were," Tillman said of the velocity readings. "I don't think velocity is that big a deal for me. I can slow them down with my changeup. I could care less about the velo, to tell you the truth."

In addition to feeling good physically, Tillman feels he's cleared mental hurdles, as well. He said when pitching he doesn't think about his shoulder anymore, focusing instead on the pitches he needs to make.

So are his shoulder problems finally a thing of the past?

"I think so," Tillman said. "I feel great. But this kind of snuck up on me last year. I don't think you ever really know. As of right now. I feel great and haven't had any problems."