BOSTON _ Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman not only suffered his shortest outing of this young season Friday night at Fenway Park, but he appeared completely out of whack against the Boston Red Sox in the brief time he was on the mound.
Tillman lasted just three batters into the third inning, allowing 10 of the 16 batters he faced to reach base, giving up six runs on seven hits, two walks and a hit batter in the Orioles' 7-3 loss.
Perhaps worse than that pitching line was Tillman's pitch chart, which displayed an incredible lack of command.
As a result, the division-leading Red Sox improved to 11-2 while the Orioles lost for the third time in four games to slip to 5-9.
It marked Tillman's shortest outing since Aug. 3, when he also lasted two-plus innings and allowed seven runs (five earned) on six hits and two walks.
When the Orioles signed Tillman to a one-year, $3 million deal during spring training, they did so because they believed the right-hander had put last season's struggles in the past. The team didn't consummate an agreement until arriving at a figure it would be comfortable buying out on Tillman if he struggled extensively out of the gate.
But Tillman's ERA is now 11.91 three starts into the season. He hasn't won a decision since May 7 last season, going 21 straight starts without a win.
He has allowed 22 hits and 10 walks over 11 1/3 innings this season for a 2.82 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched).
For a four-year stretch from 2013 to 2016, Tillman was not only the Orioles' most consistent starter but always seemed to be the stopper when the team's rotation began to skid. But on Friday night, Tillman was just the opposite, unable to extend the Orioles' string of three straight quality starts.
Despite saying he's fine physically, Tillman (0-3) has done little to erase the shoulder concerns that plagued him throughout 2017 after he went on the disabled late in the 2016 season with a shoulder injury.
Since 2016, his fastball velocity has steadily declined _ his four-seamer averaged 89.6 mph on Friday _ which isn't a major concern if he can execute his other pitches effectively, which Tillman has been unable to do this season.
He pitched mainly with his fastball Friday, never finding his feel for the pitch, and leading to some sharply hit balls by the Red Sox. Of the 13 pitches Boston batters put in play, four of them were hit with exit velocities of 104 mph or higher. In 57 pitches, Tillman induced just two swinging strikes.
Tillman has had success against the Red Sox in his career, entering the night 10-4 with a 3.03 ERA in 21 career starts against them. He was also 5-1 with a 2.39 ERA in nine career starts at Fenway Park
The most damaging hit off Tillman wasn't a good one _ Eduardo Nunez's three-run homer over the Green Monster to put the Red Sox up 4-1 in the first inning had a hit percentage of just 49 percent. It came after Tillman issued a leadoff walk to Mookie Betts, a one-out single to Mitch Moreland, a sacrifice fly to J.D. Martinez and a double to Rafael Devers.
Back-to-back doubles by No. 9 hitter Tzu-Wei Lin and Betts extended the Orioles' deficit to 5-1 in the second. After opening the third inning allowing consecutive hits to Devers and Nunez and then hitting Jackie Bradley Jr. with a pitch, Tillman was pulled by Orioles manager Buck Showalter.
He left the game with the bases loaded and reliever Pedro Araujo's first pitch got past catcher Caleb Joseph for a passed ball to score the sixth run charged to Tillman.
Mike Wright Jr. allowed the Red Sox's final run in the sixth.
The Orioles scored in the first on Adam Jones' sacrifice fly and in the seventh on Manny Machado's two-run double.
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