Baltimore Orioles Daily: Chris Tillman melts down, Angels complete sweep

After suffering their most lopsided defeat of the season, the Baltimore Orioles are an AL-worst 8-23.

The Baltimore Orioles were suffering through a long stretch of brutal play when Chris Tillman emerged as a small reason for hope. The righty had been in the woods since the start of the 2017 season, but he entered Thursday night’s game against the Angels in relatively good form, with a 2.77 ERA over his previous two starts.

We should have known better than to get our hopes up — nothing gold can stay for this team. Tillman gave up extra-base hits to Mike Trout and Justin Upton before he could retire a single batter, and by the time he managed that, the Halos already had two runs. The rest of the Angels continued the onslaught, eventually sending all nine hitters to the plate. Tillman escaped the inning, but not before surrendering five runs.

The former All-Star came out to pitch the second, but when he immediately gave up two hits, Buck Showalter finally made a call to the bullpen. Tillman’s final line: 7 earned runs, 7 hits and 1 walk in a single inning pitched. Reliever Miguel Castro wasn’t much better, and by the end of the night, the score had ballooned to 12-3 Angels.

The loss capped off a disheartening sweep, dragging the Orioles down to 8-23 for the year. With the Athletics next on the schedule, things aren’t about to get any easier. Look out for our preview content later today — and until then, here’s what you might have missed yesterday.

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