Kim on his injury, Tillman on the win and more clubhouse quotes

Orioles outfielder Hyun Soo Kim suffered a strained right hamstring today and left the game in the second inning of the O's 4-2 win over the Angels.

The injury happened when Kim was running to first base on a groundout to second in the first inning.

"I felt a stinging pain as I was running," Kim said, through interpreter Danny Lee. "I talked to the trainer and decided to leave the game upon agreement. I hope that I don't miss any games. But I will be going through some tests tomorrow. So possibly there will be some good results from it so I don't have to miss any games."

Today notwithstanding, Kim has had a strong first half for the Orioles, batting .329/.410/.454 with three homers and 11 RBIs in 46 games.

"Going through the first half it was very exciting for both the team and me. But ending the first half like this with a possible injury was not a pleasing thing. So I'll focus on getting back on the field with healthy status," he said.

Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman made 12 starts at home in the first half and the O's went 12-0 in those games. With today's win, the Birds went 16-3 in his starts. Today, he walked five but allowed just three hits and one run and improved to 12-2 with an ERA of 3.41.

"The end result was good and we came out on top," Tillman said. "But it was a grind from the get-go. I was kind of missing with all my pitches early. Fortunately, I was able to get into somewhat of a rhythm and make some pitches. Came out on top, was good."

He has had a bounce-back season in 2016.

"I mean, I am a team guy and don't look too much at the personal stuff. I think we had a pretty solid first half. We need to keep playing good baseball to get to where we want to be," he said.

Tillman looked to be a near-lock for the All-Star game before a three-start stretch where he allowed 14 runs over 14 2/3 innings. He has given up just two runs over 14 innings his past two outings. But he is not on the All-Star team.

"No, it's not disappointing," Tillman said. "The American League is a good league and there are a lot of guys that deserve it. We've got five guys going and that make everyone in this clubhouse happy to be well represented at the All-Star game. Not disappointed at all."

More clubhouse quotes:

Chris Davis on the first half for him and the team: "Yeah. I like the position that we are in right now. Finishing the quote-unquote first half with two wins at home is good to build some momentum for the second half."

Davis on what he would like to improve on: "I mean, obviously the strikeouts. To me, that is something I'm always working on. If I'm trying to take the positive out of it, I've had so many seven or eight-pitch at-bats where I just couldn't get it done. There have been too many situations with runners in scoring position or even on first base where I could get them over, but haven't gotten the job done. That is something I need to continue to work on."

Davis on Tillman not being an All-Star: "It is so hard, nowadays. Pitchers, really, they have the upper hand right now. You look at the high strikeout rates and guys going six or seven innings early in the season and padding their numbers, it is tough to single one guy out. I think today was a good chance to see what he can do. That is a good lineup over there and I'm proud of the way Chris has thrown the ball."

Davis on possible loss of Kim: "That has been our forte the last few years, having someone step up in big spots. I'm sure we'll have someone that can fill in for him. I thought Nolan (Reimold) had a pretty good first half. Joey (Rickard) got off to a huge start. But you are not going to replace a guy like Kim."

Zach Britton on getting his 100th career save: "It is just a whole number, right? I think it is a credit to the guys that have thrown in front of me for a few years, Darren (O'Day) and Brad (Brach). They've put me in some situations to be successful. It is a sum of the parts and not one person."

Britton on Tillman's first half: "Huge. He should be going with us to San Diego, if you look at what he's done. It is hard to find five better starters than what he has done for a first-place team. I knew working out with him in the offseason that he wanted to get back to what he had done the previous years. There was no doubt he was going to do it."