That's why

By Steve Melewski

Orioles

April 08, 2010, 8:20am

Comments

Watching David Hernandez struggle to keep his pitch count down tonight vs. Boston, it is easy to understand why the Orioles did not want Chris Tillman's second start to come vs. the Red Sox. Hernandez, making his 8th start, certainly struggled with his command, but the Sox are just a relentless bunch in that lineup and work the count so well. The O's made a wise choice to have Tillman's second start come Monday vs. Detroit on the road. That is no picnic, but I like his chances better that night than vs. this bunch. By the way, an O's official confirmed for me this week that the O's did in fact set it up for Tillman to pitch his Major League debut on Wednesday and miss Boston this weekend. Smart. Andy MacPhail said he wants to put young players in the best spot to suceed. He is doing that with Tillman. Boston is 5th in the AL in runs scored, Detroit is 11th. Boston is 7th in batting average, Detroit is 11th. Boston is 5th in team OBP, Detroit is 11th. The Tigers are no walkover, but this early in Tillman's career, I think they made the right choice. He'll have plenty of time down the road to battle vs. Boston - just not now.