BOSTON — Chris Tillman had more than only the Boston Red Sox lineup and chilly temperatures to deal with at Fenway Park on Saturday.
Tillman also had to handle the agonizingly deliberate pace of his pitching opponent, Clay Buchholz of the Red Sox.
“I think he was challenged by things out of his control,” Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said after Tillman pitched 5 2/3 innings to help the Orioles to a 4-1 victory over the Red Sox.
“It’s cold and he’s sitting there for 20 minutes. He found a couple of heaters and was able to stay warm. It’s sad. He had stuff that was good enough to get us deep into this game.”
Buchholz’s slow pace is well known around baseball and Saturday, coming off a shelling at Yankee Stadium last weekend, he snaked his way in and out of trouble in a game that ended up at three hours and 24 minutes.
It felt even longer.
“It’s not easy,” Tillman (2-1) said. “Any time you go up against a guy like that, it’s to be expected. He likes to control the game. We’re completely opposite.
“I like to work fast, get it going and get my teammates back in the dugout as fast as possible.”
Asked how long he felt like he was waiting, Tillman said: “Forever. I couldn’t tell you how long. … There’s no right or wrong way to do it.”
Tillman and three relievers combined on a seven-hitter as the Orioles (6-5) won for the sixth time in their last seven games at Fenway.
Tillman, raising his career record against Boston to 8-3, including 4-1 at Fenway, gave way to fellow right-handers Brad Brach and Darren O’Day, who took the game through the eighth inning.
Closer Zach Britton finished with a perfect ninth that included two strikeouts for his fourth save of the young season.
Britton came on with a little extra breathing room after first baseman Chris Davis hit a two-run home run in the top of the inning — his second home run of the season.
Buchholz allowed 11 hits and two runs in six innings but fell to 1-2.
His manager, John Farrell, said he saw “more conviction and assertiveness to the pitches he threw.”
Buchholz, who said he had his best cutter since 2013, felt it was much better.
“After that last outing, last thing you want to do is just let them hit the ball around,” he said. “It definitely didn’t feel like I gave up 11 hits. It felt like I won a couple of those battles that balls just ended up falling in. It didn’t affect me near like it did the other day in New York.
“I was able to get out of a couple of tight spots. The name of the game is keep your team in the game. We had a couple of chances that they did a good job of pitching out of, too. You gotta tip your cap sometimes.”
Third baseman Manny Machado’s RBI groundout was followed by an RBI single by catcher Caleb Joseph as the Orioles (6-5) scored two runs on five hits in the fourth inning.
In the next inning, they wasted three hits and a walk.
Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz had three hits and a walk in the loss. He doubled to lead off the fifth inning for his third hit, moved to third on a groundout and scored when Tillman flubbed a slow grounder.
The loss dropped the Red Sox to 7-4, with two losses in their last three games.
NOTES: Orioles 2B Jonathan Schoop was placed on the 15-day disabled list because of a right knee injury suffered tripping over first base Friday night. 3B Jimmy Paredes (back) was recalled from a rehab stint. … Baseball America reported that Boston signed 42-year-old RHP Denny Bautista to a minor league contract. Manager John Farrell said he was unaware of the move. Bautista last pitched in the majors in 2010. … Boston CF Mookie Betts, batting .209, was rested, and RF Shane Victorino was a late scratch because of sore ribs sustained hitting the wall in the right-field corner Friday. … RHP Miguel Gonzalez, 4-0 lifetime against Boston and 2-0 at Fenway Park, will face RHP Rick Porcello in the third game of the four-game series Sunday. … Baltimore manager Buck Showalter, who hoped MLB would act on umpire Jordan Baker’s “professionally embarrassing” ejection of RHP Ubaldo Jimenez on Friday, said he spoke to discipline chief Joe Torre and wasn’t expecting anything to happen. The umpires felt the high fastball thrown at Pablo Sandoval was a result of a hard but clean Sandoval slide earlier in the game.