Last night the Orioles took a glimpse into what they, and the fans, hope is a bright future. Battery mates catcher Matt Wieters and pitcher Chris Tillman have been hyped by Major League Baseball since they were signed just a few years back. Both players made their debuts in 2009 and have struggled adjusting to the difficulty of the major league game. It seems that these struggles are starting to turn into wins and home runs, which is a great thing for the Orioles.
Tillman followed his eight strikeout performance against the Yankees with a solid 6 2/3 innings against the Tampa Bay Rays. Tillman allowed one run on five hits and one walk. Wieters showed the poise and patience at the plate delivering a sac-fly and a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. Most impressive, however, was Wieters' stellar work behind the dish. He threw out base-stealing machine Carl Crawford out at 2nd base twice. This was only the second time in Crawford's career he has been thrown out twice in the same game.
If the Orioles hope to continue to build for the future, these two building blocks have shown that they can carry their weight. Having a very good pitcher and a very good catcher are keys to being successful. Throw in some of the other young arms like Brian Matusz and the Orioles just may be on to something.
Last nights game was not one for the ages, but when it comes to the Orioles and their fans, it showed a glimpse of what is to come for the next decade.
Nice to see what the Orioles future holds! I saw Wieters and Tillman in the minor leagues so it will be fun to follow them.
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