O's game blog: Chris Tillman on the mound in Yankees series opener

They come to town as the last place team in the American League East. The New York Yankees are 8-15 and have lost five in a row heading into tonight's series opener at Camden Yards.

New York has been outscored 33-12 during the losing streak and were just swept at Fenway Park. The Yankees are 1-5 on a nine-game road trip. They are 3-8 in road games and 3-6 in AL East games.

Even with losing the last two games of their series with the Chicago White Sox over the weekend, the Orioles are 9-3 at home this year and have outscored their opponents 56-39 at home. The Orioles have a team ERA of 2.97 and a batting average of .296 here at Camden Yards.

On the mound tonight, it is a matchup of right-handers, with Chris Tillman (2-1, 3.24 ERA) making his sixth start and Luis Severino (0-3, 6.86) making his fifth.

Tillman gave up just two singles in 6 2/3 scoreless innings Wednesday at Tampa Bay. He tied his career high with nine strikeouts. Over his last two starts, he has allowed just six hits and two runs in 12 2/3 innings. In three home starts, he is 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA.

Four times this year Tillman has allowed two runs or less and three times he has given up one run or less. Lefty batters are hitting .238 against him and right-handed batters are hitting just .188. In 16 career starts against New York, Tillman is 6-6 with an ERA of 4.96.

The 22-year-old Severino burst on the major league scene last year, going 5-3 with a 2.89 ERA in 11 starts for New York. But this year, he has allowed 15 runs and 32 hits over 19 2/3 innings for a .372 batting average against.

Left-handed hitters are batting .306 while right-handed hitters are 17-for-37 against Severino for an average of .459. He has also allowed a .429 average against when pitching with runners in scoring position at 9-for-21.

Last year, Severino gave up 7.7 hits per nine innings and this year that mark is 14.6. He fanned 8.1 per nine in 2015 and that is now down to 5.5, and his WHIP has increased from 1.203 to 1.780. In two road starts, he is 0-2 with a 10.13 ERA.

The Orioles went 10-9 against New York last year, including a 7-2 mark at home. They are 21-13 versus the Yankees since June 21, 2014. The Yankees have lost 13 of their last 16 games at Camden Yards.

Team comparison:

Batting average: Orioles .271, Yankees .234
Runs per game: Orioles 4.54, Yankees 3.52
Team OPS: Orioles .787, Yankees .670
Home runs: Orioles 34, Yankees 23
Team ERA: Orioles 3.77, Yankees 4.79
Starters ERA: Orioles 4.81, Yankees 5.16
Bullpen ERA: Orioles 2.23, Yankees 4.13