O's still chasing .500, plus Chris Tillman's bullpen debut

OAKLAND, Calif. - If the Orioles are going to be a playoff team in the 2017 season, they probably first need to be a team that wins at least half of its games.

Right now the club is having a hard time even getting to .500, much less staying there or moving several games over. Since June 21, the Orioles have gotten to .500 just three times. They were 38-38 on June 27, 39-39 on June 29 and 56-56 on Aug. 7.

The last instance was a week ago when they beat the Angels 6-2 in Anaheim to start this road trip. But disappointment has followed as they have gone 2-4 since that win. With two chances to get to .500 with wins at Oakland, against a team that is 14 games under .500, the Orioles lost each time. They are now 58-60 and 2 1/2 games back for the second wild card spot.

Not good enough as manager Buck Showalter might say. The skipper was asked Sunday about the club's failed attempts to get to the break-even point.

"I don't look at it. It doesn't say anything, but you could make something out of it," Showalter said.

Manny Machado had this take: "It's just about playing baseball - we've got to keep doing what we're doing. One day, we come out there and we play as a team, and the other day, we miss opportunities.

"We've just got to stick together, keep doing what we're doing. We've got a great team. We've got a great lineup. We've got a great pitching staff. Things haven't turned out the way we'd like them to be, but we're going to keep fighting until the end. We're not going to stop. That's the best thing we have. That's the best tool."

Since the 2012 season, the Orioles have a combined record of 31-33 when playing in Anaheim, Oakland and Seattle, the three cities on this trip. Since then, they are 11-12 in Anaheim, 10-11 at Oakland and 10-10 at Seattle where they begin a three-game series tonight.

Tillman talk: The long-awaited first bullpen appearance by Chris Tillman finally arrived. He faced four batters Sunday and retired them all, two on strikeouts. He faced two batters in the seventh and two in the eighth, throwing 20 pitches with a fastball that topped at 94 mph. He had not pitched since he made the start at Oriole Park on Aug. 3 versus Detroit and gave up seven runs (five earned) in two innings.

Tillman said his outing Sunday, when he pitched on nine days' rest, was a step forward for him. What made him feel that?

"Just in seeing some of the stuff that I saw. Based on what we've been working on. It didn't all come together. But it was a step in the right direction and one step closer to getting back."

But he also said it was hard to truly evaluate himself when facing four batters.

"Yeah, for me it is. It's tough. Can go back and look on video and probably have a better idea, but, it is hard to get a feel for the way it was with only four hitters."

Showalter gave Tillman good reviews.

"Chris was good," Showalter said. "Thought it was very encouraging, some things that he and Roger (McDowell, pitching coach) had been working on really seemed to fit in. It'll be interesting to see how he feels tomorrow.

"I'm not going to get into some of the things that they've been working, on but he got down the hill, his angle was better. You expect his fastball to be crisper. Sometimes it goes the other way, so there's some curiousity there. Wanted to get him out there on a good note. As proud a man as he is, it feels good for us to know that he feels like the arrow's pointed up. Creates some interesting options as we go forward."

After 194 major league games, all as a starter, Tillman got that first game in relief under his belt. It was nice to get that out of the way.

"Yeah, I think so," he said. "The unknown is probably the toughest part. So getting one out of the way, definitely feel better about it."

When asked when he could pitch again, Tillman said he should be able to pitch in tonight's game if needed.

"I don't see why I wouldn't (be available)," he said.

Final notes from Oakland: The Orioles scored 26 runs on 50 hits in the series at Oakland, getting 10 hits or more each game. They had 16 doubles, eight coming on Saturday night.

Shortstop Tim Beckham was 8-for-14 with four doubles and six runs scored in the first three games at the Oakland Coliseum. But he went 0-for-4 Sunday and his average finally dipped under .500 at .491 (26-for-53). Beckham's 12-game hitting streak was snapped. It was the third longest ever to begin an Orioles career. The two that were longer both took place in 2004 - a 15-game streak by David Newhan and a 13-game run by Javy Lopez.

Adam Jones had just one hit Sunday, but he went 7-for-17 in the series with two doubles, two homers and seven RBIs. Jones has 1,573 hits as an Oriole and that is one shy of tying Boog Powell for fifth on the O's all-time hits list.

Machado went 3-for-4 with a triple and solo homer yesterday. He went 7-for-14 the last three games of the series after going hitless Thursday.