O's game blog: Chris Tillman on the mound in homestand finale

After losing 14-7 on Monday and 2-0 yesterday, the Orioles have lost a home series for the first time this year. Today they try to avoid being swept in a home series by the Minnesota Twins.

The Twins have not swept a three-game series in Baltimore since July 22-24, 1996. However, Minnesota did have a four-game sweep at Oriole Park from Aug. 20-23, 2015.

Both the Orioles and Yankees lost last night and New York begins today leading the American League East by 1 1/2 games over the Orioles. The AL Central-leading Twins are 24-18 overall and 13-5 on the road. Minnesota is 8-1 in its last nine on the road.

Right-hander Chris Tillman (1-0, 3.52 ERA) makes his fourth start for the Orioles today. Tillman began the year on the disabled list and joined the roster May 7. He was dealing with shoulder issues which led to a platelet-rich plasma injection in December and a cortisone shot in mid-March.

Over 15 1/3 innings, he has given up 16 hits and six runs with seven walks, 12 strikeouts and a .267 batting average against.

Tillman came up with his first quality start in his game on Friday against Toronto. Over six innings, he allowed five hits and three runs with two walks and four strikeouts. He threw 91 pitches and felt he took some steps forward in that game.

"It was much, much better," he said after that game. "Really had one inning where it got away from me. The stuff was much better. I felt good. I could have gone longer. I think we are taking steps every time. This one was by far the best one. Pitch-wise, it was much better. But there is still a lot of work that needs to be done."

Right-hander José Berríos (2-0, 0.59 ERA), who turns 23 on Saturday, will get today's start for Minnesota.

Berríos began the year with Triple-A Rochester and went 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA. He gave up one earned run or less in five of six starts with eight walks and 39 strikeouts over 39 2/3 innings in the International League.

Recalled on May 12, he has made two starts for the Twins, pitching 7 2/3 innings each time. On May 13 he gave up just one run and two hits versus the Indians, while on May 18 he pitched scoreless ball on two hits versus the Rockies.

In 15 1/3 innings, he has given up one run and four hits for an .082 average against. He has two walks to 15 strikeouts. In his last start he fanned 11. He became the youngest Twin to strikeout 11 or more in a game since Francisco Liriano in 2006.

In those two starts, left-handed batters have gone 4 for-31 (.129) against him and right-handers are 0-for-18 with six strikeouts. His only career start versus the Orioles was May 10, 2016 when he allowed three runs over five innings.

Berríos averages 94 mph on his two- and four-seam fastballs. He has thrown his fastball 64 percent of the time, his curveball 29 percent and his changeup on seven percent of his pitches in those outings against Cleveland and Colorado.

Berríos was ranked among Baseball America's top 100 prospects twice. He was No. 36 at the end of the 2014 season and No. 28 after 2015. Four times between 2012 and 2015 he was ranked among the Twins' top seven prospects.