Taking tonight's game to The Trop

Chris Tillman didn't expect to be back at Tropicana Field this quickly after making the opening day start for the Orioles.

He also didn't imagine that he would be working on seven days rest.

Perhaps a shift in the norm will get Tillman back in the proper direction.

Tillman comes into tonight's game against the Rays with a 7.58 ERA in 19 innings. He's made it through the sixth in only one of his four starts, in the season opener beneath the dome.

The rotation's ERA, which ranked last in the majors a week ago, moved up to 26th yesterday at 5.06 after Ubaldo Jimenez allowed two unearned runs over seven innings against the White Sox at empty Camden Yards.

Orioles starters have posted three consecutive quality starts since Miguel Gonzalez brought an element of calm by completing six innings and allowing four runs against the Red Sox. Wei-Yin Chen permitted two runs and four hits in eight innings, Bud Norris allowed three runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings and Jimenez lowered his season ERA to 1.59 in 22 2/3 innings with a dominating performance against the White Sox.

Tillman will attempt to extend the streak of quality starts to four after allowing seven runs and walking five batters over 4 1/3 innings at Rogers Centre. He's 13-3 with a 3.52 ERA in 26 career starts working on six days rest or more.

Tillman is 5-6 with a 3.87 ERA in 15 career starts against the Rays and 2-2 with a 3.03 ERA in six starts at Tropicana Field. He's never been the "home" pitcher there, so we're venturing into uncharted territory.

Hopefully, he won't be distracted by having both teams' mascots entertaining whatever constitutes a crowd this weekend.

Evan Longoria is 14-for-36 (.389) with two doubles and six home runs against Tillman. James Loney is 3-for-24 (.125) with a double and home run, and Desmond Jennings is 2-for-21 (.095) with a double.

Alex Colome is making his first appearance for the Rays this season after contracting pneumonia in spring training and posting a 2.35 ERA in 15 1/3 rehab innings between Single-A Charlotte and Triple-A Durham. He walked three and struck out 17.

Colome, who was suspended for the first 50 games of the 2014 season after testing positive for the steroid Boldenone, allowed one run and two hits over 5 2/3 innings in his only start against the Orioles.

The Orioles are 1-for-10 against Colome, with Manny Machado producing the only hit in two at-bats. Adam Jones had the most at-bats against him and is 0-for-3.

The bullpen is rested coming into the series, with manager Buck Showalter using Kevin Gausman and Zach Britton for an inning on Wednesday to avoid a longer layoff. Other relievers need work, but Jimenez was on a roll and Showalter said he didn't want to mess with karma.

Rule 5 pick Jason Garcia, who served up two home runs to Boston's Hanley Ramirez on Sunday, is going through what's commonly described as a "dead arm period," according to Showalter. Garcia's fastball was touching the upper-90s in the minors last season, but it's mostly been topping out at 93-94 mph with the Orioles.

"I think he's going through a little bit of a period, they used to call it a 'dead arm' period in spring training where he's not quite carrying the pure stuff," Showalter said before Monday's postponement. "There's a lot of new things thrown at him, that sense of intensity with the pitches here.

"When you look at it, you only really need 34 more days of active service to have him in our organization because you're going to get September, where you can cover him, and you're going to get a little bit of October there, so if you do the math of how many days you need ...

"We haven't put our bullpen in harm's way yet. It's been close a few times, but we're always going to err on that side. We'd like to keep him. We think there's better there. There's a good chance he's going to be a quality pitcher in the big leagues. We'd like to be the one to have him, but if we get to the point where it keeps us from winning or puts any of our pitchers in harm's way physically, then we'll make the adjustment."