With the Orioles magic number sitting comfortably at “The Brady” (that’s 9, for the uniform-number impaired) and a playoff berth all but guaranteed, it suddenly begs the question: Who is our ace?
The ace is particularly important in the playoffs because, depending on how things shake out, he can get up to three starts in a 7-game series. A great “ace”—like Curt Schilling for the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007 or Chris Carpenter for the Cardinals in 2011—can almost single-handedly change a team’s fate. The Orioles have great defense and hit home runs in bunches, but their post season destiny will rest in the hands of their pitchers.
A few weeks ago, I wrote an article where I referred to Wei-Yen Chen as the Orioles “number two starter.” That day, I was assuming Chris Tillman was our “ace.” But if you look closer, it’s not quite that cut and dried. Indeed, there are at least three pitchers who could make legitimate claim to be the Orioles ace.
The Pitcher:
Chris Tillman
The case for “ace”: A 12-5 record and a glittering 3.35 ERA. Tillman is also a workhorse, having logged 187.2 innings, the most for any Oriole. Additionally, opponents are batting a mere .235 against Tillman, the best of any starter on the team.
The intangibles: Playoff experience and a stoic demeanor on the mound (and also, alas, in High’s commercials.) When he’s on his game, he has the nastiest stuff of the starters, capable of being a truly intimidating pitcher.
The Pitcher
Wei-Yen Chen
The case for “ace”: Chen’s 14-4 record is the best on the team. His ERA is slightly higher than Tillman’s, at 3.69. He has also logged fewer innings. (As we speak, he’s pitching a shut-out against the Red Sox with a comfy eight run lead. A win would make him 7 and 1 in his last 11 starts, with 3 no decisions.)
The intangibles: Chen is your prototypical crafty lefty who can get people out even when he doesn’t have his best stuff. A nice skill to have in the playoffs
But wait! There’s a bonus contender!
The Pitcher:
Bud Norris
The case for “ace”: Norris’s 12-8 record is not quite as great as Tillman’s and Chen’s, but it’s still pretty darn good. Also, he is averaging 7.1 strikeouts per 9 innings, the most of any starting pitcher on the team.
The intangibles: Add a little post-season adrenalin rush to that strikeout record and who knows how many batters he could fan? Norris is a battler who wears his heart on his sleeve, just the type to take it to the next level in the playoffs.
The verdict: We’re sticking with Chris Tillman as our ace, but would feel extremely confident with either Chen or Norris starting Game 1. Heck, we have confidence in all our pitchers. Would anybody freak out seeing the red-hot Miguel Gonzalez out there on the mound for Game 1? We think not. And the best news? All our starters need to do is pitch into the sixth or seventh inning and then our nearly unhittable bullpen takes over. Darren O’Day, Andrew Miller, and Zach Britton have a combined ERA of 0.84.
In short: WE CAN’T BE BEATEN!! (Ahem) *Breathes into paper bag. Attempts to pace self for long playoff run.*