Thursday, July 24, 2014

Tillman Extends Streak but Late Loss for O's

At 6-0Chris Tillman hasn't lost a road game all season.

That streak is still alive, after another quality start (8 out of the past 9 now) in which he lasted 6 innings, permitting 1 ER on 103 pitches.

A stuttering Orioles offense could only muster 2 runs for Tillman, a far cry from the contribution he is accustomed to on the road -- his unblemished rod record comes with a near 5.00 ERA.

Tommy Hunter's 8th inning started off all wrong. A single by Josh Hamilton was followed by a double by Erick Aybar, evening the score at 2 apiece. A couple of strikeouts later, Hunter found himself close to mitigating the damages and heading towards the ninth.

But after intentionally walking Navarro, Ianetta was given a base-on-balls and Brian Matusz came in to relieve Hunter.

Matusz walked in what would be the Angels' winning run, much to the displeasure of Buck Showalter's strategic gameplan.

Less heartbreaking than a walk-off in the 9th, a loss in a game that should have been won is still a loss. On a brighter note, Baltimore's rebounding ability after tough games like these have been astoundingly effective, especially compared to recent years.

The O's are 28-16 this season following a loss with a +1.5 run differential, third best in the majors.

With 4 games in Seattle to cap a 10-game road stretch, it'll be back to Baltimore for 6 games against the Angels and Mariners, followed by a 1-game makeup Beltway Clash in Washington D.C.

After those 7 games, I see the O's 13 above .500 at 60-47.

That should extend the current 3 game lead held over the Yankees in the AL East.

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