Tides vs. Braves: 7/26/2009

I drove up to Lawrenceville last Thursday to witness what was probably the last minor league start of 21-year-old Chris Tillman's career. I watched Tillman warm up before the game and he was fairly wild, even during long toss. I was hoping he just needed to get warmed up but he was wild during the game too. After skating through the first two innings (4 Ks through 2 IP), the Braves lineup started to make Tillman throw strikes and started hitting him hard. Tillman only lasted 3.2 innings, striking out 4, walking 4, giving up 4 runs including a solo homer. He was hitting low-90's on the stadium radar gun. Looks like that performance won't keep him from the majors though; he's rumored to be called up for his major league debut this Wednesday.

Not much else of note to report from the game. Brandon Snyder went 0-4 and the Tides lost 5-1. On the bright side, Screech went 2-4 to continue his fine season (.315/.390/.524) and 2B Justin Turner went 3-4 with an RBI (.304/.353/.393 overall) and could have the makings of a good utility man for the O's next year.

Nice little stadium the Gwinnett Braves built. Classic design, not too overdone.






Tillman vs. Braves




(Over at Roar from 34, Matt has a similar post as he caught Jake Arrieta on the mound when the Tides moved north and took on the Durham Bulls this weekend. We've got the south covered when it comes to your Oriole coverage. Word.)