BALTIMORE _ Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman came into Tuesday night's start with a chance to become the first 15-game winner in the major leagues, but the Colorado Rockies would not cooperate.
Tillman (14-3) had been dominating in July, with four straight victories and a 1.29 ERA, but he faltered in a four-run third inning and the Rockies notched a 6-3 victory before 23,677 at Camden Yards.
The whole game hinged on that third inning, because Tillman was one strike from getting out of it without giving up a run when Carlos Gonzalez doubled down the left field line with the bases loaded to drive in the first two runs. Tillman also had two strikes on rookie slugger Trevor Story before he followed with a single to left for two more runs.
The Rockies extended the lead to 6-0 in the fifth when Nolan Arenado doubled home a run and eventually scored on a wild pitch by Tillman, who gave way to reliever Tyler Wilson after giving up nine hits and striking out three over five innings.
Adam Jones finally got the Orioles on the scoreboard in the bottom of that inning with his 18th home run of the year, a two-run shot that followed a two-out single by hot-hitting J.J. Hardy. Jones also scored the Orioles' third run of the game after he drew a leadoff walk in the eighth and scored on a wild pitch by Colorado reliever Boone Logan.
If there was a silver lining in this game, it was the performance Wilson, who was recalled over the weekend to fill in while Ubaldo Jimenez was on paternity leave. Wilson pitched the final four innings of the game and did not give up a hit or a walk.
The loss ended the Orioles' winning at five and evened the series heading into Wednesday night's homestand finale, which features the third major league start by O's rookie Dylan Bundy.
