Trumbo gives Orioles early three-run lead (we're tied)

CLEVELAND - The Orioles gave Chris Tillman a three-run cushion today in the top of the first inning.

They loaded the bases with one out against Indians starter Mike Clevinger and Mark Trumbo cleared them with a double off the left field fence, giving him a team-leading 37 RBIs this season. The rally began with walks to Adam Jones and Chris Davis and a Manny Machado single.

Clevinger threw 32 pitches in the inning.

Tillman retired the side in order in the bottom half on 12 pitches.

Manager Buck Showalter expressed concerns today about the club's bullpen depth heading into the series finale against the Indians.

Showalter rattled off the names of his relievers and which ones could be used today. Vance Worley isn't a consideration after yesterday's extended outing and there are a few others that Showalter would like to skip if possible. Otherwise, he could squeeze an inning out of a couple relievers while passing the baton.

In other words, Tillman needs to pitch deep into the game.

As I wrote earlier, the Orioles scratched left-hander T.J. McFarland from his start today at Triple-A Norfolk in case they wanted to use him in relief. He's ready to come off the minor league disabled list and Showalter values having him as a long man.

"Just to be on the safe side," Showalter said. "He still could pitch an inning there if he had to. Just want to make sure we're covered. There was some thought about today, but it didn't happen."

Ubaldo Jimenez is listed as Thursday night's starter against the Red Sox at Camden Yards, keeping him in the rotation and on his normal turn despite his continued struggles.

"He's the projected starter for Thursday," Showalter said. "We don't have an off-day. It's just general practice. I'm the projected manager for today, but who knows if that will happen? Just about everything is projected.

"What is it? There's some expression that we're all day-to-day."

Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but Jimenez is listed as Thursday's starter.

Showalter passed along more good news regarding shortstop J.J. Hardy, who's on the disabled list with a slight fracture in his left foot.

"J.J. had the boot off and he was walking around," Showalter said. "I know they're going to get another CT scan on (Friday) to make sure it's all the way healed. He's starting to have weight-bearing (activities)."

The CT scan could take place in Baltimore or Sarasota.

Hunter Harvey, recovering from sports hernia surgery, is throwing from 90 feet in Sarasota.

"Doing most of his conditioning in the pool, keeping the pressure off the site," Showalter said.

Yovani Gallardo remains scheduled to start Thursday at Single-A Frederick, though the Orioles aren't certain which half of the doubleheader. His right shoulder felt good today following yesterday's simulated game.

Gallardo will throw a bullpen session Monday or Tuesday in Baltimore.

Indians reliever Tommy Hunter expressed how much he misses his former teammates and how strange it felt to pitch against them yesterday.

Hunter recorded two outs in the seventh inning and allowed two runs on Jones' RBI double and Machado's double play grounder.

"It's terrible," he said, smiling. "You want to strike everybody out. I talked to a couple of them after the game. It was like, man, just take three ground balls and let me be on my way. Then hanging a pitch to Jonesy, I just started laughing. Not really laughing. I was really upset. I was like, 'Man, I should just put this ball on the grass and he's going to go swing at it.' But of course, Jonesy takes care of hanging breaking balls.

"It was kind of hard. You just don't look up. Just try and keep your head down and go. It was some pretty good friends, but you never want to give up two runs."

Hunter, who signed with the Indians over the winter after his deal with the Yankees reportedly fell through due to health concerns, is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in 10 appearances. He's allowed four runs and nine hits in 9 1/3 innings.

"It's a good group," Hunter said. "It's baseball, so you can't really go anywhere and find bad people. There's changes everywhere you go. You're just trying to fit in, trying to follow somebody else's lead, try to figure out the way and navigate the waters. Let everybody know that you're really loud, you like to have fun, play cards, basketball and football, play all kinds of games, then they figure out kind of who you are."

Showalter already knows. Hunter spent parts of five seasons with the Orioles as a starter, closer and set-up man.

"Tommy is easy to like," Showalter said. "He plays hard. He pitches hard and he's a great teammate. It's easy to pull for him. I wasn't pulling for him last night, but Chris (Davis) and him are real close. But Chris is trying to get a hit and he trying to get Chris out. You pull for him, but not against you.

"Tommy is easy to pull for. His teammates pull for him. He's not just some funny guy. He's very competitive and a good father and a good husband. He handles adversity well and he has great self-awareness, and when something doesn't go right, he looks in the mirror. Over a long season, that plays well in clubhouses. There are so many people who are trying to push it off on something else."

Hunter didn't get a chance to speak with Showalter during this series, but he fired off a text message.

"It's kind of different," Hunter said. "Buck, he's in the clubhouse and then he's out in the game. He's not out there beforehand like when we went out for BP. I sent him a text and said hello, but other than that, he has his deal to do. I'm not going to walk into the clubhouse, just walk in and act like I'm still there."

Players would love it.

Hunter, dealt to the Cubs in July for outfielder Junior Lake, underwent multiple surgeries over the winter before signing a one-year, $2 million deal.

"It happened kind of right after the trade," Hunter said. "I was throwing against the Giants and I felt my groin go. It was one of those tough ones. I knew it was pretty good and tried to work through it. Unfortunately, it wasn't something I could try and work through. They tried to help me around it and get into a position where I could throw and it wasn't good, so I went and got a second opinion after the season and had surgery the next morning, and during the rehab process I popped another abductor, so I had another surgery to repair them.

"It was a good one, man. A little bit of abdominals, a little bit of sports hernia with your abs coming together. They sewed that back together, groin and the other two abductors. All three abductors got reattached.

"It's all good. It's all a work in progress. I was fortunate to get an opportunity to come back and play and get the opportunity to get stronger and better."

The free agent process was "no fun," Hunter said.

"It wasn't very enjoyable," he said. "Everybody's got their stories. The whole 'don't get bitter, get better, work harder' type of deal if you don't like where you're at situation, but I love where I am. I'm able to stay at home. My wife has family around her with a baby. It ended up working out about as good as you can possibly imagine. For all the ups and downs the offseason held, I think we ended up on top as a family."

The trade to Chicago allowed Hunter to get an up-close look at former Orioles teammate Jake Arrieta, last year's National League Cy Young Award winner and owner of two no-hitters. Not the same pitcher he remembered in Baltimore.

"Man, watching Jake throw was pretty incredible," Hunter said. "One of the best pitching experiences I've ever seen. Maybe some other people will argue it was the best in the history of the game. Being able to witness that, and somebody that went through as many hardships and struggles as he did come out on top and be the guy he is today, what kids are looking up to, it was fun to watch and be there in person and see him blossom like the young little tulip he is.

"Everybody in all of baseball knew that the guy had that kind of talent. He showed it day in and day out. It was just a matter of him putting it together. Not only did he put it together, but he took that talent and just blew it up."

Update: Ryan Flaherty notched his first RBI in his 26th game with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning that scored Jonathan Schoop and increased the lead to 4-0. Schoop led off with a double and took third on Nolan Reimold's fly ball to center field with the count full.

Tillman has faced the minimum number of batters in three innings. A walk and a double play. He's thrown 44 pitches.

Update II: Carlos Santana led off the bottom of the fourth with a home run on Tillman's first pitch, a changeup, to reduce the lead to 4-1.

Tillman has allowed four home runs in 11 starts - one in each of the last three.

Update III: The Indians weren't done in the fourth. Francisco Lindor walked with one out and Mike Napoli homered to reduce the lead to 4-3.

Update IV: Jason Kipnis led off the bottom of the sixth with a home run to tie the game 4-4.

Tillman's streak of quality starts ends at seven in a row. He's allowed three home runs today, matching his total coming into the game.