O's game blog: It's Tillman time in second game of series

Coming off a start in which he allowed seven runs in the Orioles' loss to Toronto, Chris Tillman will try to get the Orioles even in Game 2 of four-game series at Boston.

Tillman (1-1, 7.71 ERA) will pitch against Red Sox right-hander Clay Buchholz (1-1, 7.84 ERA) at Fenway Park.

After giving up just one run over 6 2/3 innings on opening day, Tillman allowed seven runs over just 2 2/3 innings Sunday against Toronto. Those seven runs were one off his career-high of eight, allowed three times before, most recently May 21, 2014 at Pittsburgh. Sunday's outing also tied for his second-shortest start ever at Camden Yards, his shortest since Aug. 11, 2011 against the Chicago White Sox.

"They came out swinging," Tillman said after that game. "I was never able to get any real command of any of my pitches. If I have command of just maybe one of them, I'm able to get deeper in that game. They put some good swings on pitches.

"I wasn't able to get right. From the get-go, I was a little off with the command and I never got back in it. Ryan (Lavarnway) did a good job of giving me every opportunity to get back in it, but it was just poor execution all the way through."

After suffering the loss against Toronto, Tillman snapped a streak of four consecutive winning decisions at Camden Yards, spanning eight starts. The Orioles went 8-0 over that stretch, outscoring opponents 39-12.

Tillman is 6-5 with a 4.86 ERA in 16 career April starts. His career ERA in April is the highest among any other month.

Like Tillman, Buchholz pitched well in his first start and poorly in his second, but his disparity in those starts was even greater.

On April 6, Buchholz pitched seven scoreless innings, scattering three hits, at Philadelphia. But six days later, he gave up seven runs in the first inning against the Yankees. Over 3 1/3 innings last Sunday, he gave up nine hits and 10 runs (nine earned). The runs and earned runs allowed were career-highs.

In 17 career games (16 starts) against the Orioles, Buchholz is 9-4 with a 3.86 ERA. In eight home starts against the Orioles, he is 4-2 with a 2.76 ERA and .193 batting average against.

This year, left-handed batters are hitting .250 (10-for-40) against Buchholz and right-handed batters are hitting .500 (2-for-4).

Of Buchholz's six career shutouts, three have come against the Orioles. His nine wins against Baltimore rank as his second-most against every team except Toronto (11-8).

The Orioles enter today tied with the Yankees for the major league-lead in home runs with 16. Adam Jones ranks tied for second in the American League with four homers. The Orioles led the majors last season with 211 home runs.

Over his last four games, catcher Caleb Joseph is 8-for-14 (.571) with a triple, home run and three RBIs.

Last night's loss snapped the Orioles' five-game win streak at Fenway Park. They are 19-10 in Boston since the start of the 2012 season.

Note to readers: I will be at Bowie later today covering the Baysox's game. There will not be a separate story on this game when it is over, so stay here in this entry after today's game to keep your comments going.

Orioles win 4-1: The series is all knotted up as the O's earned the 4-1 win over the Red Sox in Game 2 of the series. Although the O's could have used a longer outing out of Tillman, since the bullpen was taxed after Ubaldo Jimenez's ejection in Game 1, the starter was still solid. He scattered six hits over 5 2/3 innings, allowing just one run and two walks while striking out five.

The O's got on the board first in the fourth inning, thanks to back-to-back RBIs from Manny Machado and Joseph. They added two more runs in the ninth on Chris Davis' two-run shot over the Green Monster.

Brad Brach, Darren O'Day and Zach Britton - who earned his fourth save - did not allow a run, the bullpen's first scoreless outing of the season.

Tomorrow, Miguel Gonzalez will look to give the O's the edge. He'll square off against Rick Porcello in Game 3, which begins at 1:35 p.m.