Tillman talk and some notes following the O's 4-2 loss to NY

On a night where he said he just didn't have nearly his best stuff, Chris Tillman battled the Yankees pretty well, but it didn't lead to a win for him or the team. Tillman gave up eight hits and three runs (two earned) over six innings in the Orioles 4-2 loss to New York. "This might have been the best I've felt but I think I had the worst stuff today. I got that curveball going and that was the only thing that saved me," Tillman said. "Fastball command was pretty poor tonight, but once I got the curve going it got them off the fastball a bit. "I felt good tonight, but stuff-wise, not so much." Tillman's own throwing error helped the Yankees scored once in the fourth and the Orioles made an error in the New York two-run sixth. Still, Tillman can take something to build on after a solid outing that followed up his recent start vs. Boston where he gave up four runs and five hits in just 1 1/3 innings. Tillman said it was nice to bounce back with a decent performance. "I think that's huge, especially going into a road trip with my next start on the road. My fastball command needed improvement tonight. Early on I was barely throwing strikes. I need to get my curveball going earlier in the game, but it was a big adjustment from last start. "I knew once I got that going it would help me get deep in the game. I missed with my changeup quite a few times, too, would have like to get it going with that too. The curve ball was there and I stuck with that and rode that out." Tillman falls to 0-2, 5.54. He threw 106 pitches in his third Major League start of the year. Some other notes from the game: *The Yankees are 10-1 on the year vs. the Orioles with ten wins in a row. They have outscored the O's 65-29 in the season series and have won 21 of the last 24 between these teams. *Winning pitcher CC Sabathia improves to 13-1 in 18 career starts vs. the Orioles. He is 8-0, 2.11 in his last eight starts vs. the Birds. He entered with an ERA of 5.81 over his previous five starts, but gave up two runs over seven innings. *Sabathia's last four wins this year have come vs. the Orioles. He is 0-2 with four no decisions over his last ten starts except for the four wins vs. Baltimore since April 28. *Garrett Atkins went 1 for 3 with an RBI single and is 9 for 20 on the season vs. New York. *The Orioles have scored just 23 runs the last 11 games and 29 over the last 13 contests. *Opponent starters have recorded 13 straight quality starts vs. the Birds and 42 in 59 games on the year. *The Orioles are 7-25 vs. the AL East. They are 5-4 vs. Boston and a combined 2-21 vs. the Yankees, Rays and Jays. *The Orioles scored first tonight for the first time since May 30 at Toronto and led for five innings tonight. That is the longest stretch they have held a lead since May 25 vs. Oakland. They are 1-12 since.