Tillman provides ace-like effort, plus some minor league notes

Chris Tillman made 15 starts for the Orioles in the 2012 season and they team went 10-5 in those games. He made 33 last season as the Orioles went 21-12. He has made two this year and the team is 2-0.

Sense a trend?

When Tillman starts, the Orioles have a good chance to win. That adds up to a mark of 33-17 in his 50 starts since 2012, a team win percentage of .660.

Tillman delivered an ace-like performance Sunday giving up just five hits and one run over 8 1/3 innings in outdueling Justin Verlander. It was so needed by a rotation that had an ERA of 7.56 going into Sunday.

The Orioles have two wins this year and guess who started those games? They are going to need a victory when someone else starts and today is not a bad day to get one in New York, as Ubaldo Jimenez makes his second O's start.

Maybe the ninth-inning rally Saturday followed by Tillman's outing Sunday has pumped some momentum back into the O's dugout, as the road trip heads to Yankee Stadium today.

The Double-A Bowie Baysox completed a season-opening, four-game sweep of Harrisburg with a 10-5 win on Sunday. Bowie is off to its best since the 1997 team began 5-0.

Some have taken to calling them the "Bowie Bashers," as they've plated 35 runs already. Bowie has a .353 team batting average and a .490 slugging percentage.

A look at how some Baysox have done so far:
* Buck Britton is 8-for-19 with seven runs and two RBIs.
* Christian Walker is 6-for-19 with two doubles and four RBIs.
* Sharlon Schoop (Jonathan's older brother) is 6-for-7 with two doubles.
* Garabez Rosa is 6-for-16 with a homer and eight RBIs.
* Michael Ohlman is 5-for-12 with a double and an RBI.
* Ronald Bermudez is 5-for-7 with three doubles and three RBIs.
* Niuman Romero is 5-for-11 with four RBIs.

It hasn't been all offense, as Bowie has a team ERA of 2.37 to rank third in the Eastern League. Since Eduardo Rodriguez gave up five runs opening night, the last three Baysox starters - Tyler Wilson, Tim Berry and Zach Davies - have pitched 18 innings, allowing just 11 hits and two earned runs.

Meanwhile at Single-A Frederick, outfielder Glynn Davis is off to a good start. Davis had four hits Sunday and is batting .471. Through four games, he is 8-for-17 with five runs, two doubles and three RBIs. The 22-year-old Davis is 4-for-6 batting with runners in scoring position.

The Orioles signed Davis as a non-drafted free agent in August 2010 after he had played at Catonsville Community College near Baltimore and after he had a big summer with their Youse's Orioles scout team.

But a hamstring injury slowed him early last season and he hit just .234 in 97 Frederick games. So he is back with the Keys and realizes this is a pretty year for him to show the organization what he can do.

"For sure," Davis said. "I haven't really had a full season where I was healthy all the way. So this year, I feel is a big year and I trained hard in the offseason to stay healthy."

Davis was part of offseason workouts at Camden Yards, where he would see players like Chris Davis, Adam Jones and Nick Markakis. Guess a few things rubbed off and he has played well so far for the Keys.