Tillman on his way, Os will go to 6-man

BALTIMORE — Chris Tillman is expected to arrive in Baltimore on Friday night and he will likely make his next scheduled start on Sunday for the Orioles.

Manager Buck Showalter said Friday afternoon that plan is not definite yet, but acknowledged it was what would probably happen. Given that the Orioles have several young arms reaching their innings limit, inserting Tillman in the rotation would give the team a chance to go to a six-man rotation to help get through the season’s final month.  It would also move the rest of the current rotation back a day, putting Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta and Brad Bergesen in line to pitch next week’s series in New York, which starts on Monday.

Long reliever Rick VandenHurk is also someone the organization wants to get a look at in a starting role, and he could make several spot starts in September.  VandenHurk was acquired for the Marlins in a deadline deal with the Marlins and the O’s could chose to skip a starters schedule turn entirely or just push back the rotation again to give VandenHurk a look.

The 22-year-old Tillman went 1-4 with a 7.92 ERA in two separate stints with the Orioles this season. He pitched to a 3.34 ERA for Triple-A Norfolk, posting an 11-7 record in 21 starts.