Chris Tillman lasted six innings to give the Baltimore Orioles their first quality start in 10 games and first win since the All-Star break.

BALTIMORE – Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman fired his best outing since being called off the disabled list on May 7 as Baltimore took down the Texas Rangers, 3-1, on Monday night to collect their first win after the All-Star break.

It was a much needed outing from an Orioles starter after allowing 27 runs in the weekend series with the Chicago Cubs. That prompted talks of the O’s looking to possibly sell off some players, but for now, Buck Showalter’s bunch is off the schneid after not scoring a run in the series finale against the defending champs.

The Rangers got on the board in the second on a Jonathan Lucroy RBI double to score Drew Robinson, who reached on a two-out walk. Lucroy doubled into the left field gap, the first hit of the night, and the ball was able to get passed a sliding Adam Jones to reach the wall. Lucroy tried to stretch the play to third, but the Orioles were able to get the tag to end the inning.

Baltimore scored its first run in the sixth on a Jonathan Schoop RBI sac fly that scored Jones. The center fielder reached base on a walk and advanced to third on a Manny Machado single.

It was a pitcher’s duel for much of the contest as Chris Tillman and Andrew Cashner each allowed just two hits through the first four innings. That is all the Rangers could muster before Tillman was forced to exit the game after six innings with his pitch count reaching 95 pitches. It was only the third time this season Tillman made it through six and snapped a 10-game streak in which the O’s failed to produce a quality start.

Cashner pitched into the seventh inning and looked to be in good control until Seth Smith hammered a two-out solo home run to straight center to give the Orioles their first lead in 33 innings. It was the 10th homer on the season for Smith. Welington Castillo doubled in the next at bat and that was the end of the line for Cashner after 6 2/3 innings.

The scoring did not stop there as Jeremy Jeffress came on in relief of Cashner and quickly allowed Castillo to score on a Ruben Tejada RBI single to make it 3-1. That proved to be all the runs the Orioles would need as

Richard Bleier, Mychal Givens and Brad Brach each threw a scoreless inning in relief to give Baltimore their first win since the All-Star break.

Quick notes:

Zach Britton did not enter the game in the ninth inning in a save situation. He has failed to pitch in back-to-back outings since coming off the DL. Brach recorded his 16th save of the season.

The San Fransisco Giants came to terms with Jack Conlon, who the Orioles failed to sign as their fourth-round pick, according to Ken Rosenthal. His deal is pending a physical, which he did not pass with the Orioles. Baltimore does have a history of not signing players because of medical concerns.

The trade rumors are swirling after the Orioles were swept by the Cubs. We dissect what the rumors mean for the club.

Game two of the four-game set features Dylan Bundy (8-8, 4.33 ERA) on the hill for the Orioles. Texas will send right-hander Tyson Ross (2-1, 5.33 ERA) to the bump.

Joe Serpico

Joe learned his journalistic ways in the halls of Annenberg and McGonigle en route to becoming Temple Made. He was a Temple News contributor, and the lead reporter for the 2011 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship. A die-hard Philadelphia sports fan, Joe has suffered through many years of letdowns by his hometown teams.