The Orioles have again climbed within 5 1/2 games of first place in the American League East. All it took was a dramatic 10-inning victory in Oakland and a Yankees loss to a Red Sox team that hadn’t won on the road since July 2.

Assuming that his left ankle is fine, do you start Chris Tillman on Sunday in Anaheim or Monday in Seattle?

Tillman is 6-0 with a 2.09 ERA lifetime against the Mariners, and he’s allowed one run and five hits in 14 1/3 innings in two starts at Safeco Field, with two walks and 11 strikeouts.

Tillman is 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA in four career starts against the Angels, and he’s allowed one run in 14 innings in their ballpark.

You really can’t go wrong either way.

Miguel Gonzalez would start Sunday if Tillman is pushed back to Monday. He’s 3-1 with a 2.20 ERA in four starts against the Angels and 2-1 with a 2.61 ERA in three starts in Anaheim. He’s 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in three starts against the Mariners, and he allowed one run over six innings in his only start at Safeco Field.

Not that I needed another example of how things can change around here, but we were told over the weekend that Tillman would start Friday if yesterday’s bullpen session went well. Now he’s being pushed back to Sunday or Monday and it apparently has nothing to do with yesterday’s bullpen session, which reportedly went well.

Chris Davis is batting .306 with nine home runs, 27 RBIs and 13 runs scored since the All-Star break. He led the American League in RBIs for a few seconds yesterday until the Blue Jays’ Josh Donaldson passed him with a two-run homer.

Davis struck out twice yesterday to raise his total to 135, tops in the majors, and I couldn’t care less. If you’re still obsessing over Davis’ strikeout total, you’re missing the big picture or just searching for something else to complain about.

As we head into the off-day, Davis is batting .248 with 28 home runs and 79 RBIs in 105 games. He made a bunch of outstanding plays at first base in the Oakland series - plays that appeared much easier because of the way he executed them. He’s going to strike out. He’s also an intimidating presence in the middle of the lineup, and he’s on a tear.

Davis ran the count full in one at-bat yesterday before being called out on strikes on a pitch that missed outside. Plate umpire Dan Bellino be-lew it.

The count was full again in the 10th inning when Davis hit his fifth career grand slam.

Am I reading too much into the last two lineups, or should we expect Gerardo Parra to play right field when Davis is starting at first base?

Travis Snider and Nolan Reimold were in left field the last two games. Parra has a plus-arm that plays quite nicely in right. And he’s a two-time Gold Glove winner. He won’t be challenged at any position.

The Orioles began the season with 11 pending free agents. They’re down to six now, including Parra, who joins Davis, Matt Wieters, Wei-Yin Chen, Darren O’Day and Steve Pearce.

Rule 5 pick Jason Garcia needs to be added to the 25-man roster or exposed to waivers. If he cleared, he would have to be offered back to the Red Sox, who would gladly take him.

Bringing Garcia to Anaheim for the weekend series would require the Orioles to create room for him in the bullpen. Two relievers have options - T.J. McFarland and rookie Mychal Givens - and manager Buck Showalter would like to keep both of them.

McFarland is valuable as a long reliever backing up the right-handed starters. Givens is valuable because he can help to fill the vacancy created by the Tommy Hunter trade, and he’s been very good in a small sample size.

“I think that’s been the most impressive thing so far, the thing that caught my eye when he was first up here was his mound presence,” Showalter said. “It comes sometimes with guys who have been position players. That’s one thing that usually isn’t as big a challenge. Now, let’s see what happens when he gets banged around a little bit, see if that changes. That’s the next step. But stuff-wise, he can pitch here.

“They’ve worked very hard at shortening him up to the plate, with his times to the plate, which has really made the catchers happy. He’s got ways to defend himself, but there’s a lot of roads to cross.”

Triple-A Norfolk shortstop Paul Janish committed only his second error in 335 total chances during Tuesday night’s game against Louisville. Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy had committed one error in 300 chances before yesterday.

The shortstop position is in soft hands.

Fans keep asking me about Dariel Alvarez’s timetable to reach the majors. There isn’t one. At the latest, he’s going to be part of the September expanded roster. However, he could be brought up this month if the Orioles are willing to remove an outfielder.

That’s all I’ve got. Sorry.

Fans also keep asking about Delmon Young. I keep asking whether it’s more about superstition than production.

Every losing streak is blamed on Young’s departure (or Buck’s garden gnome). Young has been in the playoffs six years in a row. He’s a good luck charm, and he’ll always been appreciated for his bases-clearing double in Game 2 of the 2014 American League Division Series.

Young was batting .270/.289/.339 with two home runs in 52 games before the Orioles designated him for assignment and released him. He had two hits in his last 19 at-bats. But some fans view him as a roster upgrade.

Young has spent his time away from the Orioles recovering from an ankle injury. Apparently, it was bothering him and we weren’t made aware of it.

The Orioles have a minor league offer on the table if Young wants it, but he obviously is seeking a major league deal. He supposedly has a few teams interested, though he remains on the market almost a week past the non-waiver trade deadline.

I get the sense that some fans are frustrated with Snider, who’s produced a .237/.318/.341 slash line with nine doubles, two triples, three home runs and 20 RBIs in 69 games. I keep picking up their subtle hints on Twitter and in the comments section of this blog.

Snider was 3-for-34 with no home runs or RBIs in July, and he’s 0-for-2 with a walk and two strikeouts this month. His last home run came on June 28 in the second game of a doubleheader against the Indians.

Left-hander Stephen Tarpley, one of the minor league pitchers traded to the Pirates for Snider, is 8-2 with a 2.32 ERA in 14 starts at low Single-A West Virginia. Steven Brault, the PTBNL in the trade, is a combined 9-4 with a 3.10 ERA in 22 starts between Single-A Bradenton and Double-A Altoona.

Outfielder Junior Lake is 3-for-9 in his first three games with Norfolk.

Steve Johnson is 4-1 with a 2.76 ERA in 25 appearances at Norfolk. He’s struck out 54 batters in 42 1/3 innings and surrendered only one home run.

Johnson struck out the side in his one inning in Pawtucket on July 30, allowed one hit in three scoreless innings against Lehigh Valley on Aug. 2 and fanned two more last night in a scoreless inning against Louisville. He’s walked one batter and struck out 14 in his last eight appearances.

Johnson’s lack of minor league options work against him, as Showalter seeks flexibility in his bullpen with the addition of guys like Givens and Mike Wright before his calf injury. But Johnson brings experience pitching in the heat of a pennant race and he’s looking better with each outing at Norfolk. Don’t forget about him.