Steve Clevenger: "Playing in Baltimore is a dream come true for me"

Tonight, the Baltimore kid made good.

Steve Clevenger hit first career homer as an Oriole and it was a big one. In his 126th career at-bat with the club, Clevenger blasted a three-run shot off Sonny Gray. His homer off the American League ERA leader carried the Orioles to a 4-2 win over Oakland and a four-game sweep.

And he did it at Camden Yards in front of family and friends.

"I wasn't thinking about that right away until I got back into the dugout," he said. "It's awesome. Playing in Baltimore is a dream come true for me. To be part of this team right now and help us get a W is great and an awesome experience."

Not bad to hit it off Gray, who had an ERA of 0.72 his previous three starts and had given up just nine homers in 23 starts for the season. It also came on an 0-2 pitch. Did Clevenger change his approach when he got behind in the count?

"Not really. I had a feeling he would come back in there (inside corner) because he had beaten me real bad the pitch before. Just tried to keep my hands in there and put a nice, good swing on it.

"He's got good numbers and is a premier pitcher in the league. He got me down 0-2 and made a really good pitch. I just put a good swing on it. Sonny Gray is a great pitcher, and we did what we needed to do tonight to get the W.

"Feels great. Especially this time of year. We're in a playoff race and I want to do anything I can to help the team. We're on a good streak right now and want to keep it going heading into the next series."

Every chance to start is another chance for Clevenger to show the Orioles what he can do and another chance to try and stick in the major leagues. He's now batting .417 (10-for-24) in seven games this season with the Orioles after hitting .305 in 75 Triple-A games.

"Yeah, I hope so. I hope Buck (Showalter) is paying attention a little bit. Just here to help anyway I can when Buck calls my name, I'll do my best.

"I went down to Norfolk this year, and I was on a mission down there to get better at catching and every aspect I could get better at. They told me what I needed to do down there. I went there and did it," Clevenger said.

Chris Tillman got the win tonight allowing two solo homers and a single in seven innings to improve to 9-7 with an ERA of 4.54. Over his past eight starts, he is 4-0 with a 2.13 ERA.

"It was good," Tillman said of his outing. "It was a grind early on and I threw a lot of pitches. But Caleb (Joseph) did an absolutely fantastic job getting me through that. Just the right mix with pitches. Today, I was able to command my fastball for the most part."

Tillman said there was an instance where he felt an issue with his injured left ankle.

"There was just one pitch I felt it and it let me know it was there. But other than that, good physically. We need to get on a run here and keep playing good baseball like we have been. If our starters can get deep into the game and set up the bullpen the way we need to, we'll be all right."

Tillman has not taken a loss since May 31 and tonight ran his career-high tying win streak to seven games. In his past 12 starts, he is 7-0 with a 3.47 ERA and eight quality starts. Tillman also won seven consecutive decisions from May 24-June 30, 2013.

Tonight, he shared the spotlight with Clevenger and threw some heavy praise toward the Baltimore native.

"He's huge. He always has been on both sides of the ball. He's done way more than his fair share of what he needs to do to stay up (in the majors), but look at the guys in front of him. They are doing just as well. Clevy is great. He's involved with the pitching staff and he has his say, so as a pitching staff, we appreciate him," Tillman said.

As for Clevenger, tonight was his second career major league homer. He certainly still remembers the pitcher he hit No. 1 against. It was on June 29, 2012 for the Cubs against Houston.

"I do. Bud Norris. My first homer. I reminded him every time of that when he was here. Been a while since I hit one," he said.