O's game blog: Chris Tillman starts first-half finale

He got the start in the first game of this season, and today Orioles' right-hander Chris Tillman gets the call in the last game of the first half. Tillman (11-2, 3.55 ERA) faces Los Angeles Angels' right-hander Tim Lincecum (1-2, 7.50 ERA) in the finale before the All-Star break.

Tillman is indeed having the bounce-back season the Orioles had hoped for. He has recorded 10 quality starts and pitched seven innings or more six times. The O's are a robust 15-3 (.833) when he has started.

The righty recently went through a three-start stretch where he gave up 14 runs over 14 2/3 innings, which raised his ERA from 2.87 to 3.71. But on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium, Tillman allowed just one run over seven innings, throwing 100 pitches as the Orioles beat the Dodgers. In 11 home starts, Tillman is 7-0 with a 3.45 ERA and the Orioles are 11-0 in those starts.

The Angels signed Lincecum on May 20 after he held a showcase for teams May 6 in Arizona. He went to Triple-A and made three starts before joining the Angels. In his first start, he gave up one run in six innings June 18 versus Oakland. But over his past three starts, Lincecum has allowed 14 runs and 25 hits across 12 innings. Opposing batters have gone 25-for-58 against him in those outings for a .431 average against.

Lincecum was on three World Series winning teams in nine years with the San Francisco Giants. He has thrown two no-hitters, led the league in strikeouts three times and won the National League Cy Young Award in 2008 and 2009.

In his only career start versus Baltimore - for the Giants on June 16, 2010 - he went six innings, allowing eight hits and two runs with four walks and 10 strikeouts. He has never pitched at Camden Yards before today.

The Orioles' Hyun Soo Kim extended his hitting streak to a career-high six games on Saturday. He is batting .308 (8-for-26) in that span. Third sacker Manny Machado has now hit safely in 16 of his last 18 games, batting .388/.417/.513 (31-for-80) with four doubles, two home runs, 14 runs and 12 RBIs during that stretch.

Center fielder Adam Jones recorded his fourth outfield assist of the season on an 8-4 putout in the top of the fifth inning yesterday. It was his 90th career outfield assist and 83rd as an Oriole.

The Angels' Mike Trout has registered a hit in 13 of his last 15 games with an at-bat, batting .446 (25-for-56). With his run in the top of the sixth inning, Trout surpassed Vladimir Guerrero for the ninth-most runs scored in Angels history (545 runs).

The Orioles (50-36) will be in first place at the All-Star break. They lead the AL East by two games over Boston and Toronto. They need to win today to avoid their second series loss of the year at home, where they are 32-14 and have won 15 of their last 19. The Angels (37-51) had a four-game win streak snapped Saturday. They had outscored opponents 34-13 during the win streak.