Wrapping up a 4-1 win

BOSTON - The Orioles didn't just win today's game at Fenway Park, they survived a pace that most closely resembled a moving glacier.

Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz took approximately 14 hours between pitches today, forcing Orioles starter Chris Tillman to sit in the dugout for prolonged stretches. A 2-1 game dragged past the three-hour mark and ended with the Orioles ahead 4-1.

Tillman came out after 5 1/3 innings and 105 pitches.

"Don't get me going. Chris was good. He had good stuff," Buck Showalter said. "I think he was challenged by the tempo that was set by some things out of his control. How was that? Wow. I think it kind of froze things up there a little bit.

"There were a couple innings there he's sitting for 20, 30 minutes over here and it's cold. Finally found a couple heaters, but it took him a little while to get loose. It's sad in a way because he had stuff to go deep in that game."

The bullpen came to the rescue and didn't surrender any runs for the first time in 11 games. Brad Brach, Darren O'Day and Zach Britton combined to limit the Red Sox to one hit in 3 2/3 innings, with one walk and five strikeouts.

"We needed at least five or six innings, but Brad gave us a key inning, and that's the reason we didn't use Darren for the third up last night, so he could potentially pitch today. We basically had Brad and Britton there you could pitch extended innings. That was about it," Showalter said.

"Brad's had two or three good outings in a row. These guys will start settling in and they'll find their pace. He's trying to establish a consistent track record like the one he had the last half of the year. Brad has got the arsenal to protect himself against left- and right-handed hitters."

The bullpen was due for this type of outing. Going into today's game, the Orioles 'pen had pitched to a 4.89 ERA.

"It was big for us as a team," Showalter said. "They've done too many things as a group to just start casting some doubts after 10 or 12 games. They'll reach back. They've got some strong leadership down there in Darren and Dom (Chiti) and don't think they're going to wallow around in woe is me."

O'Day started a big 1-4-3 double play after fielding Hanley Ramirez's bouncer in the eighth.

"You can tell Darren, he's not trying to walk (David) Ortiz, but he's being careful there," Showalter said. "A lot of it has to do with ... He's a very good fielding pitcher. You've got a good left-handed hitter in (Pablo) Sandoval behind Ramirez, so that's probably the key to the game is the eighth inning that Darren pitched in a one-run game."

Showalter said the Orioles probably won't need to make a roster move to add a reliever for Sunday's game. They should be fine "for tomorrow with (Jason) Garcia able to pitch two or three innings."

"The challenge is not knowing if he can make it through those two or three innings," Showalter added. "We're not there yet. But Tommy (Hunter) got a day off, as did (Kevin) Gausman. Both those guys said they were good today. And (Briain) Matusz, I was trying to stay away from him so I can stretch him out a little bit. So we should be OK for a day, depending on what kind of start we get."

Miguel Gonzalez takes the mound Sunday for the Orioles, who wasted a couple of bases-loaded situations today.

Asked whether his club should have scored more, Showalter again referred to how the Red Sox slowed the pace.

"Sure, but they had the four-corner stall going there. It was tough keeping your concentration," he said.

"It seemed like Buchholz had thrown 120. He had only thrown 80 or 90. But it's all about getting that last base touched and we weren't able to do it."

Chris Davis touched them all in the ninth with a two-run shot over the Green Monster in left field. He also struck out three times, and has done so in 18-of-39 at-bats.

"He'll be upset about the ball he went after that he shouldn't have on the slow roller, but he got a cutter out over the plate," Showalter said. "He's actually having better at-bats against left-handed pitching. We were talking about it at the end of the game. And hopefully he'll start taking some of those mechanics with him with the right-handers."

"It's still early," Davis said. "I'm still trying to find my rhythm and timing. I feel like the more at-bats I'm seeing, the more I'm seeing the ball. Clay had a real good changeup today. It's pretty much his pitch. He's a guy who if he gets ahead of you early, you've just got to zone him up and he threw me in my first at-bat and my second at-bat two really good ones. Tip your hat and move on.

"He made a mistake early in the at-bat, singled up the middle, still got in on me a little bit, but it helped to have a hole up the middle. Obviously, the last at-bat off Robbie (Ross) was an at-bat that I finally got a favorable count and was able to look for a fastball out over the plate. Got my pitch."

It's always a positive development when Davis takes the ball to the opposite field.

"I think early in the season, in my BP and in early work, just trying to stay on the ball as long as I can," Davis said. "If that means going the other way or pulling the ball the right way, we talked about that a lot. In that situation, that just happened to be where that pitch was. Every pitch he threw to me in that at-bat was away. In that situation right there, a one-run game, it's big for us to get those two runs. Like I said, I finally got in a favorable count and got a good pitch to drive."

Asked about his frustration level, Davis said, "I think it's just trying to pay a little bit more attention to detail. Early on in the season, you don't let it slide. You kind of understand that it's still early, but trying to get your at-bats in. These are big games against our division. You can't leave that many runners on, especially when we know it's going to be a one or two-run game. You know, there are a lot of things that happened last night that we could have done better. You learn and move on."

So, what about the tempo of the game? Pretty slow, right?

"I think that's kind of the way Clay's game is," Davis said. "It's how he's been ever since I've known him. Played against him in college, played against him in the big leagues. He takes his time. That's what works for him and we know that.

"Going up there to face him, more than anything it's harder on our pitcher to sit in there and know that the guy is going to work at his own pace. It's part of the game. Some guys work quick, some guys like to work a little slower. You have to make an adjustment."

Brach must have made an adjustment, because he's much better now than his first three outings. He replaced Tillman in the fifth, got a double play ball and registered 1 2/3 scoreless innings.

"We always try to get ground balls here because we have such a good infield, but at that point I wasn't thinking about getting a double play, I was just thinking about getting outs. Getting two outs without any runs in, keep the lead," Brach said.

The bullpen barely bent and it never broke.

"It was good," he said. "Any time you can come in there and not give up runs, it's great. Especially against these guys, in their park, it's always nice to go up there and put up zeroes pretty much. I know we haven't discussed it in the bullpen too much, giving up runs, but we were glad to go out there today and shut them out and keep the lead."

Maybe this is the time when the relievers start hitting their stride.

"I think that's part of it," Brach said. "Spring training, you can't replicate the intensity of these games, you're not facing all the same guys. So it's one of those things,you might get into a little funk and take a week to get out of it. Unfortunately for us it seems like it's been magnified. I think we're all starting to turn the corner and hit our stride."

Tillman knows it's going to happen.

"They're always going to be good," he said. "Everyone has their ups and downs, but our bullpen is a bullpen you can count on. They're really good at their job and they take pride in it. When you're able to pitch in front of these guys, you always know you have a chance."

Tillman's chances of pitching deep into the game basically froze on the bench.

"It's a challenge," he said. "It's not easy, but any time you go up against a guy like that it's to be expected. That's his game. He likes to control the game and control the tempo. We're completely opposite. I like to work fast and get it going, get my teammates back in the dugout as soon as possible. But there's no right or wrong way to do it.

"I wouldn't say it's mentally tough. It's more physically challenging. I've been in that situation enough to prepare myself in the dugout to go back out and make pitches from the get-go. The first couple times it was tough."

How long did some of those innings last?

"Forever," Tillman said. "I couldn't even tell you how long they felt. It felt like forever."

Tillman sought redemption after lasting only 2 2/3 innings against the Blue Jays on Sunday and eventually being charged with seven earned runs after a scoring change.

"I wanted to get back out there," he said. "It felt like eternity between starts. After those kind of starts, it's not fun. You just want to get back out there and help your team. I wanted to get a little deeper in the game today because our bullpen was in a tough situation after last night. I didn't make it any easier on them but they did their best."

The best they've been this season.