Machado, Beckham, Bundy, Tillman and today's game

Major League Baseball may announce its monthly awards for August later today, and Manny Machado and Tim Beckham figure to have generated plenty of votes.

Do you prefer power or the higher batting average?

Machado crafted a .341/.348/.690 slash line. His 35 RBIs led the American League and his 12 home runs were tied with the Blue Jays' Josh Donaldson and the Yankees' Gary Sánchez.

Donaldson batted .289/.421/.711 with 27 RBIs. Sánchez batted .287/.347/.648 with 26 RBIs. The lower averages work against them.

Beckham doesn't have that issue, of course. He batted .394/.417/.646 with 10 doubles, two triples, six home runs and 19 RBIs.

There are a handful of other players who make solid arguments, all of them carrying certain deficiencies. For example:

The Mariners' Nelson Cruz registered a .747 slugging percentage to go with a .341 average and .413 on-base percentage. He had seven doubles, 10 home runs and 24 RBIs. The Rangers' Joey Gallo had a .768 slugging percentage, with 11 home runs and 22 RBIs, but he posted a .246 average. The Rangers' Adrian Beltre batted .330/.408/.592 with 30 RBIs, but his seven home runs seem pedestrian in this group.

Teammate Elvis Andrus batted .368/.409/.547 with 13 doubles, a triple, two home runs and 12 RBIs. The Twins' Jorge Polanco batted .373/.413/.686 with 10 doubles, two triples, six home runs and 23 RBIs.

Dylan Bundy is in the running for American League Pitcher of the Month after going 4-0 with a 2.00 ERA and 0.81 WHIP in five starts. Opponents batted .177 against him. But the Indians' Corey Kluber went 5-1 with a 1.96 ERA and 0.63 WHIP in six starts, and opponents batted .146. That could be a problem.

The Orioles led the majors last month with a .306 average, 57 home runs and .543 slugging percentage.

Chris Tillman is making his third start today since moving back into the rotation. He's allowed 10 runs, walked 10 batters and surrendered four home runs in 10 2/3 innings.

Tillman faced the Blue Jays on May 19 and allowed three runs in six innings, failing to get the decision in a 5-3 victory at Camden Yards. He's 5-10 with a 5.40 ERA in 25 starts against them.

Kevin Pillar is 9-for-25 (.360) with two doubles and three home runs against Tillman.

Manager Buck Showalter was asked last night about the importance of Tillman giving the Orioles a solid start.

"It gives us a good chance to win, regardless of things that may play into it," he said. "It's one game at a time and we need our starting pitcher to pitch well to give us a chance to win. That's the most important thing about it, regardless of who it is. Much like Wade (Miley) did (last night)."

Left-hander Brett Anderson was 2-2 with an 8.18 ERA and 2.091 WHIP in six starts with the Cubs before his release on July 31. In his only start for the Blue Jays, he held the Red Sox to one run over 5 2/3 innings in a 3-0 loss on Aug. 29.

Anderson faced the Orioles on April 18, 2010 while pitching for the Athletics and surrendered five runs (six total) and eight hits in five innings in an 8-3 loss in Oakland. The opposing starter was Brian Matusz, who allowed three runs and struck out eight batters in 6 1/3 innings to earn the win.

Will Ohman replaced Matusz, in case it's been a while since you've thought of Will Ohman.

Anyone remember the Orioles' infield that day? Going from the left side to the right, it was Ty Wigginton, Cesar Izturis, Justin Turner and Garrett Atkins. Luis Montanez was in left field.

The Orioles ended a nine-game losing streak and improved their record to 2-11. They lost the next five.

Showalter would arrive in August and go 34-23.

Mark Trumbo is 5-for-16 (.313) with a home run lifetime against Anderson.