O's game blog: Chris Tillman takes the mound as O's look for a sweep

The Orioles look for a doubleheader victory and to move into first place in the American League East (by percentage points) if they beat the Cleveland Indians tonight at Camden Yards.

Ubaldo Jimenez pitched eight scoreless innings while Manny Machado and Jimmy Paredes homered in the day portion of the doubleheader as the O's beat Cleveland 4-0. The Orioles have won six of seven, nine of 12 and 17 of their last 22 games.

On the mound for Game 2, right-hander Chris Tillman (5-7, 6.22 ERA) faces 30-year-old right-hander Toru Murata, who will be making his major league debut.

On Sunday, Tillman went just 1 1/3 innings and allowed six hits and runs at Toronto, throwing just 38 pitches. Tillman has pitched 5 2/3 innings or less in eight of 14 starts. In four starts versus Toronto this year, he is 0-3 with an ERA of 15.00. In 10 starts against every other team, he is 5-4 with a 3.92 ERA and five quality starts.

Tillman's stat line is way off his performance from last year:

Tillman's 2014: 1.23 WHIP, 8.2 hits/nine innings, 2.9 walks/nine innings, 4.01 FIP
Tillman's 2015: 1.60 WHIP, 10.0 hits/nine innings, 4.5 walks/nine innings, 5.10 FIP

Murata has pitched to a 5-3 record and ERA of 2.79 this year at Triple-A Columbus. The native of Osaka, Japan has pitched 80 2/3 innings, allowing 74 hits, 24 walks, 48 strikeouts and a .244 average against.

Over his last four starts, he is 2-1 with a 1.98 ERA. His last two starts both came against the Orioles' affiliate in Norfolk. In the first game on June 17, he gave two runs and 10 hits in eight innings. Then, on June 22, he allowed five runs (one earned) on four hits over seven innings.

In the International League, Murata allowed an average of .250 versus left-handed batters and .240 against right-handed hitters.

Tides are high in Norfolk: At Triple-A Norfolk this afternoon, Christian Walker hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, powering the Tides to a 5-4 win over the Toledo Mud Hens. It is Norfolk's second straight walk-off win and season-high sixth consecutive win overall.

Walker, the Orioles' No. 3 prospect according to Baseball America, finished with three hits and two RBIs as he extended his hitting streak to seven games. Over that stretch, he's hit .451 (14-for-41) with two home runs, three doubles and five RBIs. Oliver Drake (1-1) earned the victory by throwing a scoreless ninth inning. Drake has now turned in 17 consecutive scoreless appearances with the Tides, over which he's held opposing batters to a .119 average.