Tillman, Orioles try to avoid desert sweep
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Chris Tillman is enjoying a career year with the Baltimore Orioles and the right-hander draws the start Wednesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
The Orioles have won each of Tillman's last five starts and he is 11-1 with a 3.86 earned run average in his last 14 outings. They are 13-1 in that span and Tillman did not record a decision in Friday's 5-2 win at San Francisco, as he fanned nine batters and allowed one run in eight innings.
Tillman owns a 14-3 record and a 3.73 ERA in 23 starts and has dominated on the road this season, going 7-1 in 10 starts with a 2.97 ERA. He has never pitched against Arizona in his career.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It will tough for Baltimore to gain an edge when the Diamondbacks counter with Patrick Corbin, who is 8-1 in 13 starts in the desert.
Corbin, though, is 0-2 in his last three starts despite a 2.70 earned run average in that time and he tossed six innings of two-run ball for a no- decision last Friday in a 5-4 win over the New York Mets. Corbin is 12-3 in 23 starts with a 2.36 ERA and will face Baltimore for the first time.
Baltimore will try to avoid a three-game sweep Wednesday after losing the first two installments of this series, including Tuesday's 4-3 setback in 11 innings. D'backs All-Star Paul Goldschmidt cracked a leadoff home run in the bottom of the 11th inning off T.J. McFarland and finished 3-for-5 with a pair of homers. Goldschmidt tied the game with a solo blast in the ninth.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It's frustrating," said O's reliever Jim Johnson, who served up the tying shot and still leads the majors with 39 saves. "Looking at what the guys have been putting into the games and just the way the game unfolded, obviously it's heartbreaking."
Gerardo Parra had the other home run for Arizona, which struggled against Orioles starter Miguel Gonzalez. Gonzalez was sharp through seven innings, allowing two runs and five hits, and added three strikeouts to no walks for an Orioles club that blew a 3-0 lead.
Chris Davis hit his major league-leading 44th home run of the season and J.J. Hardy went deep for Baltimore, losers in three of four games. The Orioles are now two games off a wild card spot and six behind in the AL East race.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hardy is riding a 10-game hitting streak, while Davis has an MLB-best 43 extra-base hits on the road this year, the seventh-most in club history. Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. holds the club record with 49 in 1991.
D'backs starter Randall Delgado allowed three runs in seven innings for the no-decision and closer Heath Bell earned the win thanks to Goldschmidt's clutch home run in the 11th.
"It's very special what (Goldschmidt) can do. It's good to have him on your side," D'backs manager Kirk Gibson said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Arizona is 5-2 on an eight-game homestand and 5 1/2 games off the pace for a wild card spot. The D'backs will begin a 10-game road trip Friday against Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Philadelphia.
The Orioles are 4-3 on an eight-game trek and will kick off a nine-game homestand Friday versus Colorado, Tampa Bay and Oakland.
Arizona has won 11 of its last 12 interleague home games and is 8-1 in the past nine games versus the Orioles. The Diamondbacks are 11-3 all-time in this series, going 6-2 at Chase Field.