BALTIMORE _ Chris Tillman's 22-start winless streak lasted 10 days shy of an entire calendar year, so earning his first victory since May 7 had to feel encouraging for the long-struggling Orioles right-hander.
The way he did it, however, by tossing seven scoreless innings of one-hit ball against the Detroit Tigers in the Orioles' 6-0 win at Camden Yards on Friday night, sparked memories of the old Tillman, the one who was the anchor of the club's rotation from 2013 to 2016.
Tillman, 30, is not the same pitcher he was. His velocity has diminished. He's battled with his control and his confidence since shoulder problems cropped up during the 2016 season.
And maybe Tillman's outing Friday night was the first step in a successful reinvention of the dependable pitcher he once was.
The win ended the Orioles' five-game losing streak and ended a stretch of 11 losses in 12 games. They improved to 7-19 on the season.
Tillman (1-4) shelved his dependency on his four-seam fastball, leaning more on his off-speed stuff _ particularly his changeup _ in silencing the Tigers bats. Tillman's changeup made up 21.4 percent of his arsenal Friday, up from a 16.97 percent through his four previous starts.
As a result, Tillman doubled his whiff rate. He induced 10 swinging strikes, including three on his changeup and four on his slider, in his 98-pitch outing. His 9.8 percent whiff rate Friday doubled his season rate of 4.35 percent.
Even though he tied his season high with five strikeouts, the key to success for Tillman was keeping the ball on the ground. Tillman induced nine groundouts on the night.
Tillman dodged a scare early, putting two of the first three hitters he faced on base, after hitting Jeimer Candelario with a pitch and walking Miguel Cabrera. But Tillman then struck out Nicholas Castellanos after falling behind 2-1, throwing back-to-back changeups that the outfielder swung through. Tillman then induced an inning-ending flyout from Victor Martinez.
After the walk to Cabrera, Tillman retired 10 straight and 12 of 13 before allowing his first hit of the night on a one-out double by Jose Iglesias in the fifth. That was the only hit Tillman would allow, and he retired eight straight to end his outing.
Tillman had yet to retire a batter in the seventh through four starts, and Friday's outing marked the first time he went seven full innings since Aug. 16, 2016 in Oakland.
Saddled with poor run support before Friday _ he received an average of just one run a start coming in _ Tillman received an early lead on Manny Machado's solo homer in the bottom of the first, his ninth of the season. Machado also drove in a run in the eighth.
Designated hitter Pedro Alvarez had his first multihomer game since 2016, hitting a solo homer in the fifth and a two-run blast in the seventh.
Second baseman Jace Peterson had two hits and scored a run in his second start in the No. 2 spot in the batting order.
