BALTIMORE — Orioles manager Buck Showalter confirmed on Thursday that right hander Chris Tillman will start Game 1 of the American League Championship Series versus Kansas City on Friday. In addition, Showalter said that first baseman Chris Davis won’t be on team’s roster for this series.
Tillman started Game 1 of the American League Division Series against Detroit, a series the Orioles swept in three games. He battled through five innings, giving up two runs, and earned the win in a 12-3 victory over the Tigers in Baltimore.
The big right hander went the distance in a 4-0 victory over the Royals on May 16, allowing just five hits and striking out three without a walk in his only appearance versus Kansas City this season.
Showalter wouldn’t commit to any other starters past Game 1. Left-hander Wei-Yin Chen started Game 2 in the Detroit series with right-hander Bud Norris going in Game 3, but Showalter still is using an all-hands-on-deck mentality right now.
“Norris, Chen [and right-hander Miguel Gonzalez] will be in the bullpen tomorrow night,” Showalter said. “We’ll see when the smoke clears after Game 1 what bullets are left.”
If the Orioles wanted Davis in this series, they would have needed to play one man short for the first five games. Davis has served 20 games of his 25-game suspension, and the Orioles simply didn’t want to be short-handed for five games.
“Chris won’t be on the roster; we’re not going to play 24 for five games,” Showalter said. “If we’re fortunate enough to continue to play [in the World Series], then we’ll re-address it.”
The Royals already announced the right-hander James Shields will start in Game 1. He’s 2-0 against Baltimore this season and 11-7 in his career.
But the right hander said there’s no magic formula for that success.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m asked that a lot. People say you pitch bad against this team, you pitch good against this team. It’s one of those things, I guess. I’m not going to go too deep into it. I feel like I can pitch good against any team on any given day.”
–The Orioles confirmed Thursday night that they signed shortstop J.J. Hardy to a three-year deal with an option for 2018. Various media reports said that it’s a $40 million contract, and it’s a move that will be very popular in the Baltimore clubhouse since Hardy’s been so important since joining the team in 2011.
Several of his teammates came to the news conference on Thursday night, and announcing a move like this is a bit uncommon during the post-season, but executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette said it seemed fine to him.
“Why not now, really?” Duquette said. “When we looked at the market, we thought the best chance to sign J.J. was before he went to free agency … going into next year. I think it’s comforting to us and our fans to know that J.J.’s going to be back.”
–Royals manager Ned Yost also talked about how having such a good clubhouse helped his team during its late-season and post-season runs.
The Royals are a young team that has not advanced to the ALCS since 1985, and Yost likes how everyone on the team seemed to fit together all season.
“It’s just a comfort level that all the guys brought in the clubhouse,” Yost said Thursday. “The chemistry has been phenomenal with each and every one of those guys.”
–Orioles closer Zach Britton made it back to town from California at 10 a.m. on Thursday after his wife, Courtney, gave birth to their son, Zander.
Britton closed out Game 3 to finish the Detroit series on Sunday and then became a father a few days later. It’s been quite a week.
“I haven’t slept a lot,” he said with a smile. “I need some sleep and then I can process everything that just happened the last couple of days.”