Tillman Returns For Orioles To Take On Mariners
(AP) -- If there is such a thing as West Coast pride, Chris Tillman certainly has it based on how he's fared against the three AL teams located there.
The Baltimore Orioles starter hasn't lost to any of those clubs, including a 6-0 mark against the Seattle Mariners heading into the middle game of this series Tuesday night.
The Anaheim-born Tillman (8-7, 4.35 ERA) is 9-0 with a 2.21 ERA in 15 starts against Seattle (52-61), Oakland and the Los Angeles Angels. He is also 9-0 with a 2.09 ERA in 13 career road outings against the AL West.
More pertinent to this outing is his 6-0 mark and 2.09 ERA in seven starts versus the Mariners, who drafted him in 2006. The one he didn't win was a May 21 outing in which he left after three innings with a 3-1 lead because of back spasms in an eventual 5-4 victory.
Robinson Cano is a .414 hitter with two homers in 29 at-bats versus Tillman, though he's an exception among the Mariners. Austin Jackson, Kyle Seager, Nelson Cruz, Brad Miller and Jesus Montero are batting a combined .118 against the right-hander in 51 at-bats.
Tillman hasn't pitched since July 29, when he injured an ankle covering first base during a 2-0 victory over Atlanta even though he came within an out of pitching his second career shutout. He improved to 6-0 with a 2.97 ERA in his last 10 starts and has a 0.38 ERA in three since the All-Star break.
Seattle starter Taijuan Walker (8-7, 4.67), meanwhile, is 0-3 with a 4.31 ERA in five career outings versus the AL East. His lone one against Baltimore (57-54) came when he left after giving up four runs in 3 2-3 innings and didn't get a decision in a 9-4 loss May 19.
The right-hander has a 7.41 ERA in his last three home starts, though that figure is at 2.20 in his last two overall while on the road.
The Orioles have alternated wins and losses through seven of nine games on this trip after Monday's 3-2 victory. Chris Davis and Adam Jones hit solo homers and combined for the other run when Jones doubled and Davis singled him home in the fourth inning.
Davis is hitting .350 with six homers and 17 RBIs in his last 11 games.
"Right now, he's been swinging the bat the last two weeks so let's keep him going the next seven weeks and hopefully into the postseason," Jones said.
Baltimore moved within two games of the Angels for the AL's second wild card.
Franklin Gutierrez was 2 for 4 with a homer and scored both runs for Seattle.
"We played an extremely good game, they played a good game and they beat us," manager Lloyd McClendon said.
Cruz is batting .414 during a career-best 20-game hitting streak, though his nine-game run with an extra-base hit ended Monday. He is 6 for 14 against the Orioles, whom he drilled a major league-best 40 homers for last season.
The slugger has a homer in nine at-bats versus Tillman and is tied with the Angels' Mike Trout for the major league lead with 33 - including seven in his last 10 games.
