O's game blog: Chris Tillman faces Chris Archer in O's-Rays series opener

When the Orioles host the Tampa Bay Rays tonight in their first American League East game of 2016, we'll find out if right-hander Chris Tillman can pick up where he left off on Monday afternoon.

Tillman was carrying some strong stuff when he pitched two scoreless innings opening day against Minnesota before he did not return to the game after a rain delay. He retired six batters in a row - the last five via a strikeout - showing a mid-90s fastball. He needed just 22 pitches to buzz through the Twins before the rain stopped his outing.

After that game, catcher Matt Wieters said he had never seen Tillman better. Tonight, after the short outing, Tillman returns to the mound on three day's rest.

"It's big," Wieters said of Tillman's outing. "I know he would have loved to keep going in that game. I think you could at least get a feel from those two innings that he threw, that all the hard work he put in during the offseason, it's kind of where he needs to be. Even last year, he grinded out everything. He works harder than any pitcher I've been around. He knows how important he is to this club."

In 20 career starts against the Rays, Tillman is 5-9 with a 4.30 ERA. He made six starts last season versus Tampa Bay, going 1-3 with a 4.79 ERA and 1.318 WHIP.

Right-hander Chris Archer (0-1, 3.60 ERA) makes his second start for Tampa Bay. He took the loss on Sunday versus Toronto when he made his second straight opening day start. Over five innings, Archer allowed five hits and three runs (two earned). He walked three, fanned 12, and threw 107 pitches.

Last season, Archer went 12-13 with a 3.23 ERA and a Rays record 252 strikeouts. He finished fifth in the AL Cy Young voting and made his first All-Star game.

In 2015, Archer ranked among AL leaders with 212 innings (6th), 3.23 ERA (6th), 10.70 strikeouts per nine innings (2nd) and 1.14 WHIP (10th). He held opponents to a .220 average (4th), .282 OBP (8th) and .331 slugging (3rd).

Archer threw a career-high 39.2 percent sliders, the highest rate by an AL starter since PITCHf/x data is available (2002). He had a ML-most 179 strikeouts with the slider (152 swinging), for 71.0 percent of his total strikeouts.

Minor league deals: The Orioles have agreed to minor league deals with right-handed pitchers Genison Reyes and Eric Fornataro. The 24-year-old Reyes, from the Dominican Republic, is 15-17 with an ERA of 5.32 in 161 career games. Over 248 2/3 innings he has walked 133 and fanned 234.

MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko reported yesterday that the Orioles had given Fornataro a tryout. Fornataro, 28, spent last season at Triple-A Syracuse in the Nationals' organization and went 1-4 with a 5.54 ERA in 36 games, including one start. He posted a 2.57 ERA in 44 games with Triple-A Memphis in 2014. The Nats selected Fornataro off waivers from the Cardinals on Nov. 3, 2014 and released him on July 25, 2015.

Neither pitcher is on an affiliate roster at the moment and both have reported to extended spring training.