Tillman throws 122 pitches in five innings (O's win 8-4)

BOSTON - Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman threw 122 pitches tonight, three short of his career high. And he did it in only five innings. The Red Sox do have a knack for driving up a pitch count. Tillman allowed three runs and seven hits, walked four and struck out five. Seventy-one of his 122 pitches were strikes. Tillman threw 125 pitches in 8 1/3 innings on July 4, 2012 in Seattle. Tillman has gone seven innings or more in seven of his last 12 starts. Of the five starts when he failed, three have come against the Red Sox. They do the same thing to other teams. Believe me. On opening day, Tillman threw 104 pitches in five innings and didn't get the decision in the Orioles' 2-1 victory over the Red Sox at Camden Yards. He went 8 1/3 and eight innings in his next two starts against the Tigers and Blue Jays. The Red Sox are a different animal. Fortunately for Tillman, the Orioles have scored six runs tonight and put him in line for the win if the bullpen can hold the lead. Manager Buck Showalter stayed in the dugout while the Red Sox scored twice in the fifth and worked Tillman for 31 pitches. Brian Matusz kept warming in the bullpen as Jackie Bradley Jr. struck out to end the inning following RBI singles by Dustin Pedroia and A.J. Pierzynski. Tillman has allowed five earned runs in 26 1/3 innings this season for a 1.71 ERA. The Orioles scored twice in the top of fifth. Matt Wieters and J.J. Hardy drove in runs with back-to-back two-out singles. Wieters is batting .348 and leads the club with three home runs and 10 RBIs. Delmon Young singled and Nelson Cruz walked before Wieters and Hardy came to the plate. Update: Jonathan Schoop has his first career three-hit game, a double in the seventh extending the Orioles' lead to 7-3. J.J. Hardy and Steve Lombardozzi singled with two outs to bring Schoop to the plate. Matusz tossed a scoreless sixth, allowing a one-out single to Grady Sizemore, and he's back out for the seventh. Update II: The Red Sox scored off Matusz in the seventh on Xander Bogaerts' RBI single, but David Lough threw him out trying to stretch it into a double. Lough replaced Delmon Young in left and gave the Orioles their seventh outfield assist, tops in the majors. Update III: The Orioles ran their winning streak to three games and moved above .500 for the first time since opening day with an 8-4 victory over the Red Sox. Schoop recorded his first career four-hit game, his RBI double in the ninth tacking on a big insurance run. He had his first three-hit game after the seventh. Over his last seven games, Schoop is 12-for-28 with six doubles, a home run and seven RBIs. Is that good? Darren O'Day got the last four outs and earned his first save of the season. The Orioles are 15-6 at Fenway Park since Sept. 20, 2011 and 26-15 versus the Red Sox since 2012. The Orioles are 34-25 against Boston since the start of 2011, the most wins by any American League East team versus the Red Sox. They're 37-28 since Showalter took over as manager on Aug. 3, 2010.