O's game blog: Chris Tillman set to pitch as O's look for sweep over Atlanta

The start of tonight's Orioles-Atlanta game is being delayed by rain, and should start at 7:35 p.m. Yet but the skies around Camden Yards are brighter than they were about an hour ago. So stay tuned.

A win tonight over Atlanta would provide the Orioles with a three-game sweep of the Braves and also give them their second-longest winning streak of the 2015 season. The O's have won four in a row heading into this series finale.

Their longest win streak was six straight from June 7-13. They also won four in a row from June 25-28. The Orioles have allowed just seven runs during this current four-game streak.

Adam Jones had two hits last night. He has eight multi-hit games his last 12 games batting .353 (18-for-51) with three doubles, three homers and four RBIs.

Shortstop J.J. Hardy enters tonight's game with an 11-game hitting streak, hitting .308 (12-for-39) with two doubles, a home run and six RBIs. He has hit safely in 14 of his last 16 games. Hardy also ranks second on the team and tied for 13th in the American League with a .333 (20-for-60) batting average with runners in scoring position this season.

The Orioles have committed the fewest number of errors in the majors with 39. The Los Angeles Dodgers are the next-closest team with 42 and the nearest American League team is the Detroit Tigers at 50. The Orioles lead the majors with a .989 team fielding percentage.

Tonight, Chris Tillman will try to keep his latest roll going. Tillman (7-7, 4.41 ERA) takes the mound opposite Atlanta right-hander Mike Foltynewicz (3-2, 5.27 ERA).

Tillman allowed two earned runs or less in six of his first 14 starts and now has done that in his last five starts.

He has been dominant at time his past two starts, going 15 innings and allowing just three hits and one run. In that span opponent batters are hitting just (.064) against Tillman.

Over his last five starts, Tillman is 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA. In 32 2/3 innings, he has allowed 25 hits and five runs with six walks, 28 strikeouts and no home runs.

In nine home starts, Tillman is 3-4 with a 5.36 ERA this year. Tillman has never faced the Braves and he's 2-1 with a 5.47 ERA in 14 interleague starts.

Foltynewicz has made 12 appearances and nine starts in the majors this year, and he's also pitched at Triple-A. In his nine starts, he is 3-2 with a 5.19 ERA. He has allowed an average against of .305 in those games and yielded eight homers over 52 innings.

During his pregame press conference today, Buck Showalter referenced the Orioles minor leagues a few times, including a mention of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Orioles, a team that has won 14 of its last 20 games and features several players from the 2015 draft. Showalter mentioned the GCL team after a comment he made about some analysts ranking the O's farm system among the poorest in baseball.

"We have to wear it a little bit where they have us ranked compared to where we really are. I don't really care," he said. "I'll tell you, that group of six or seven 17-, 18-year-old kids playing every day in the Gulf Coast League and competing well and doing well, that's exciting. When you have kids that sign out of high school and all of them can play at Delmarva the next year at 19, some of them 18, that's exciting."

The Orioles have assigned Cuban infielder Yaisel Mederos to Single-A Frederick. He is a 26-year-old right-handed hitter that played in Cuba's top league. Mederos was signed to a minor league deal July 2 and had been working out in Sarasota.