Tillman's quest for 20 wins put on hold

Depending on how manager Buck Showalter manipulates his rotation, Chris Tillman could make eight more starts in the regular season. He needs five victories to become the Orioles' first 20-game winner since Mike Boddicker in 1984. The math says it's still possible if he's healthy.

Tillman would have been in line for nine more starts if working every fifth day, but he's being pushed back to Saturday because of right shoulder discomfort. And that's tentative, with Showalter adding "hopefully" while breaking the news to the media following last night's 5-3 loss to the Red Sox.

Showalter will have more opportunities to make adjustments with scheduled off days Sept. 1, 8 and 26. He may seek to give Dylan Bundy, who starts tonight in Tillman's place, an extra days' rest whenever possible.

Boddicker won his 15th game on Aug. 18 by tossing a four-hit shutout to beat the Angels 1-0 at Memorial Stadium. Tillman won his 15th game on Aug. 11 by holding the Athletics to two runs over seven innings in a 9-6 win at Oakland Coliseum.

Boddicker had 16 complete games and four shutouts while going 20-11 with a 2.79 ERA in 34 starts. He finished fourth in Cy Young voting in the American League.

The last five starts for Boddicker were complete games, and he needed to win the last two in order to achieve 20 victories. He scattered 10 hits while defeating the Yankees 8-1 in Baltimore and 12 hits while defeating the Red Sox 6-3 at Fenway Park.

(Name the Orioles' starting third baseman in last game. Answer to follow. And no fair looking it up.)

Tillman faced the Red Sox on June 14 and allowed one run and five hits over seven innings in a 3-2 win. He's 10-3 with a 2.74 ERA in 19 career starts against them. The Orioles most certainly could have used him tonight, but not while risking a serious injury.

As if it weren't enough to learn of Darren O'Day's strained rotator cuff. We were focused on his hamstring, never suspecting shoulder trouble. And we most definitely were caught off guard by Tillman's shoulder discomfort. There were no signs pointing toward it.

Bundy made his major league debut against the Red Sox on Sept. 23, 2012 at Fenway Park and retired both batters he faced. He's added three relief appearances this season, allowing two runs and 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts and Dustin Pedroia are 2-for-3 against Bundy. It probably comes as no surprise that Betts has a home run.

Betts is batting .426/.471/1.000 (20-for-47) with three doubles, eight home runs, 17 RBIs and 16 runs scored against the Orioles this season. Seven of the home runs have been hit at Camden Yards. He's better, he's better, he's Betts.

"I have no idea," Betts said. "Somehow it's going over the fence. Again, I'm going to continue to say I don't know why. I'm just trying to put good swings on it and enjoy it."

Walk him as often as humanly possible.

Red Sox left-hander David Price began last night leading the majors with 173 hits allowed and the American League with 163 2/3 innings. He's 8-5 with a 2.93 ERA in 21 career starts versus the Orioles and 4-0 with a 3.24 ERA in eight starts at Camden Yards.

Price has faced the Orioles twice this season, allowing five runs and five hits in five innings in a 9-7 loss on April 11 and three runs and five hits in eight innings in a 3-2 loss on Jun 14. He's walked two and struck out 19.

Matt Wieters is 15-for-50 with six doubles, a home run and 20 strikeouts against Price. Mark Trumbo is 9-for-25 with two doubles and two home runs, Manny Machado is 7-for-25 with a double and two home runs, J.J. Hardy is 13-for-44 with five doubles and Chris Davis is 7-for-26 with 14 strikeouts.

An opposing left-handed starter normally signals a spot for Nolan Reimold in the lineup. However, he's 4-for-33 (.121) with a home run and 13 strikeouts against Price.

Reimold went 0-for-1 last night against Eduardo Rodriguez and is 16-for-84 (.190) with a home run against left-handers. He's 4-for-46 overall since the All-Star break.

As I wrote last night, opponents are 13-for-48 (.271) against Brad Brach since the break, with six earned runs in 12 innings. They were 26-for-168 (.155) with five earned runs in 49 1/3 innings in the first half. His ERA has grown from 0.86 on July 21 to 1.61.

"I'm probably thinking about it and talking about it too much," Brach told reporters. "Honestly, I don't know what is different. Like I said, probably just thinking about it too much and worrying about every single pitch I throw rather than just going out there and throwing like I know I can."

Vance Worley has posted a 2.33 ERA in 23 relief appearances this season. He owns a 2.60 ERA in 46 career relief outings.

Wieters is 8-for-13 in his last four games, with two doubles, a triple, three RBIs and four runs scored. He's batting .289/.319/.444 (13-for-45) in 13 games this month.

Hyun Soo Kim is 3-for-5 as a pinch-hitter.

Machado is batting .340/.360/.660 (16-for-47) with seven extra-base hits, 11 RBIs and 10 runs scored in his last 11 games.

Answer: Ron Jackson started at third base and went 3-for-4 with two RBIs while Boddicker posted his 20th victory of the 1984 season.

Jackson appeared in only 12 games with the Orioles after signing on Aug. 14, was released on Dec. 17 and never played another game in the majors.