Flaherty hits eighth home run (we're tied)

The Orioles haven't abandoned hope of adding a hitter this month, according to a club official. They continue to check the waiver wire and remain hopeful that a deal gets done before the Aug. 31 deadline to set playoff rosters. Nothing appears to be hot at the moment, and the Orioles are presently focused on choosing their call-ups for their expanded roster. In the meantime, Ryan Flaherty would like to remain the left-handed designated hitter and occasional starter at second base. He's the DH today, and his eighth home run of the season gave the Orioles a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning. Neither team had a hit until Flaherty deposited a ball onto the flag court in right field for his first homer since Aug. 2 against the Mariners. Flaherty and Nick Markakis have the same number of home runs. Did anyone make that prediction? The Orioles have homered in 102 games in 2013. According to ESPN Stats & Info, no other team entered today with more than 90 such games. Chris Tillman is making his fourth attempt at his 15th win this season, going 0-1 with two no-decisions. He left two consecutive starts with the lead and watched it disappear. He's found the right division. Tillman is 12-1 with a 2.52 ERA in 14 career starts against the American League West. He's held teams to a .206 average. Since the start of the 2010 season, Tillman is 11-0 with a 2.02 ERA against the West, holding opponents to a .191 average. Tillman registered eight consecutive quality starts against the West from July 4, 2012-July 21, 2013 and has notched 11 overall. Tillman faced the minimum number of batters through three innings today, walking two and getting two double plays. Josh Donaldson grounded into a 6-4-3 DP to end the first, and then Kurt Suzuki struck out as Chris Young was caught stealing to end the third. Young slammed on the brakes, tried to go back to first and was caught in a rundown. Tillman has allowed one hit through four scoreless innings, a one-out single by Jed Lowrie in the fourth. He's walked two, struck out two and thrown 53 pitches (31 for strikes). Update: Tillman took a one-hit shutout into the sixth, but doubles by Kurt Suzuki and Jed Lowrie tied the game 1-1. Tillman has allowed one run and three hits, walked two and struck out five. He's thrown 87 pitches, 58 for strikes. Manny Machado led off the bottom of the sixth with his 44th double and Adam Jones walked with one out, but the game remained tied. Nick Markakis flied to the left field warning track to end the inning. He came within a few feet of his first home run since June 24.