Tillman says flat mound session "went well"

SARASOTA, Fla. - Chris Tillman is feeling the normal soreness this morning after throwing yesterday off a flat mound. Normal is good.

Nothing with his right shoulder, which received a platelet-rich plasma injection in December that is keeping him from making a fourth consecutive opening day start.

"It went well," he said. "It went about as well as a first mound can go, I guess. It's a positive. I've been feeling good. I didn't expect anything different. I feel good.

"I'm sore today, but not the shoulder. Kind of just body sore, getting off the mound, first time in a long time."

A flat mound sounds like a contradiction, but it's not the same as making throws from the outfield. There's a pitching rubber that more easily allows Tillman to simulate his delivery. It also easing the strain on his shoulder.

"I think if you go straight from playing catch to getting on a full mound, especially with a shoulder injury, I'd guess you'd call it, there's a lot more torque that goes into getting the ball from up there to down there," he said. "I feel it's a lot more pressure on the shoulder, so you want to build it up.

"It's the mound, but not the height. We throw flat mounds on the grass all the time, but it's not the same thing. This one was more so you're on the rubber, throwing to a catcher, throwing to home plate. You're actually in the bullpen, but it's flat."

Tillman is scheduled to throw off a half mound on Friday and a full mound on Sunday unless the Orioles decide to give him an extra day of rest.

"Flat, half, whole, to kind of get the whole benefit of doing it the right way," he said.

With no setbacks, Tillman could pitch in his first game on March 17.

"Yeah, I think it could happen," he said. "It depends on how the next bullpens go. I don't want to get too ahead of myself. I've seen some guys that have set dates and haven't come close to hitting that. I don't want to get too high or too low. I'm just going to take it day by day. This is something new. I'm not used to it. I haven't gone through it before."