Major League Baseball

Tillman sharp as Orioles lose to Phillies 1-0

Published Mar. 9, 2015 4:06 p.m. ET

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SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) Chris Tillman pitched two scoreless innings in his first appearance of the spring as the Baltimore Orioles lost to the Philadelphia Phillies 1-0 on Monday.

Tillman, who has won 29 games over the past two seasons, was the last of Baltimore's starters to pitch. He allowed one hit, struck out one and walked one.

Tillman was the opening day starter in 2014, and is likely to be on the mound when the Orioles open their season on April 6 at Tampa Bay.

''I'm pleased. It went well. It was fun to get out there. It gave me a chance to finally see some hitters. It was fun. Got to throw all my pitches. I got out of it what I needed,'' Tillman said.

Tillman admitted it was hard to watch from the side earlier in the exhibition season.

''I don't like sitting there. Threw enough bullpens, so I was ready. Like I said, it was fun just getting back out there, get in that atmosphere again, get the blood going a little bit,'' Tillman said.

Manager Buck Showalter said that he could tell how eager Tillman was.

''He was carrying a little more fastball than he normally does. I think he was chomping at the bit to get out there,'' Showalter said. ''It was good to see.''

In his first outing, Aaron Harang pitched two scoreless innings for the Phillies. He loaded the bases in the second with two hits and a walk before working out of trouble. Harang, who was held out of his first scheduled start because of lower back tightness, gave up three hits and walked two.

''He came into the dugout after the first inning and sort of analyzed his pitching,'' Philadelphia manager Ryne Sandberg said. ''He's a guy who really knows who's on deck, who's two hitters away. He has a plan of pitching.''

Andres Blanco hit a home run for the Phillies off Brian Matusz in the fifth.

STARTING TIME:

Harang is happy he got a chance to finally start.

''Today was just about getting out there, throwing some pitches and seeing how everything is. My arm felt great. I was missing with my fastball to lefties, but that's all. You get out there for the first time with a crowd, the adrenaline gets going and sometimes you rush a little,'' Harang said.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Phillies: 3B Cody Asche left the game with a bruised right triceps after getting hit in the sixth inning by LHP Zach Britton.

Orioles: RHP Ryan Webb sustained a left knee injury on Sunday. Webb had an MRI on the knee, and nothing serious was found.

''I had a reaction to the ice, and it swelled a little more than it should have,'' Webb said.

MATERNITY ROOM

Baltimore C Caleb Joseph returned after missing two days for the birth of his first son. He saluted his wife.

''She did it the Oriole way. She grinded it out for a long time,'' Joseph joked.

CUT

The Orioles made their first roster reductions of spring. They optioned RHP Oliver Drake to Triple-A Norfolk and reassigned INF Michael Almanzar, RHP Dane De La Rosa, LHP Chris Jones and C Brian Ward to minor league camp.

UP NEXT

Phillies: RHP Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez pitches against Detroit on Tuesday.

Orioles: LHP Wei-Yin Chen pitches as the Orioles host the New York Yankees on Tuesday. Chen is scheduled to throw three innings and be followed by RHP Kevin Gausman. RHP Chase Whitley pitches for the Yankees.

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