Machado drops his appeal
4-game suspension for fight starts today
Orioles third baseman Manny Machado said Saturday that he has dropped the appeal of his four-game suspension for charging the mound after being hit by a 99-mph fastball from Kansas City Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura on June 7. The appeal hearing was scheduled for Tuesday.
Machado will begin serving his suspension today, missing the series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays. He will also miss the Orioles’ makeup game Monday night in Texas and the two-game home interleague series against San Diego Padres on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
On the day Machado dropped his appeal, Ventura’s nine-game suspension was negotiated down by one game without an appeal hearing. At any point during the appeal process, players have the opportunity to withdraw their appeal or attempt to negotiate a more lenient punishment.
But Machado didn’t like his chances of getting his suspension reduced. The sense was the league office believed the sentence was already less severe than other similar penalties for charging the mound and fighting.
“I don’t think they were trying to [negotiate],” Machado said. “I think MLB felt it was fair what they gave me.”
Machado was frustrated he will miss four games while Ventura — who brushed Machado back twice in his previous at-bat June 7 and has a history of instigating — will miss just one start.
“I think they were pretty strong on the four games, which I think is not right that he’s going to be missing one start and I’m going to be missing four games,” Machado said. “I mean, this whole problem started with him, so why do I get four and he gets one? ... It’s done and over. I’ll sit down for the four games and be ready to help this team get to the playoffs.”
While Machado serves his suspension, the Orioles will be down to 24 players on the active roster, which is why the team kept both utility infielders — Ryan Flaherty and Paul Janish — through a flurry of roster moves before Saturday’s game.
The Orioles optioned Mike Wright to Triple-A Norfolk after Friday night’s loss and then optioned left-hander T.J. McFarland to Norfolk before Saturday’s game. Those moves made 25man roster space to activate starting shortstop J.J. Hardy and right-hander Yovani Gallardo from the disabled list.
Sloppy base running: Manager Buck Showalter said he has spoken with Machado after consecutive days of Machado failing to run out hits that could have gone for extra bases.
“It’s something you just can’t do,” Showalter said. “It’ll catch up with you and it has at times . ... There’s some things that happen that you hate to see him repeat. That’s the problem I have with it, and believe me, it’s been addressed.”
Machado hit a long drive at Fenway Park on Thursday night that rattled around the triangle in deep center field and cruised into second base with a double, but he could have had a triple if he’d gotten out of the box quicker. And on Friday, Machado hit a fly ball that appeared to have a chance to land on the flag court for a home run. But when the ball glanced off the top of the right-field scoreboard, Machado had to settle for a long single.
“He knows,” Showalter said.
Orioles need Wright: Shortly after he allowed a career-high eight runs in 32⁄3 innings in Friday’s 13-3 loss to the Blue Jays, Wright was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk, where he will be inserted into the Tides rotation.
Showalter quashed any notion that the Orioles could try Wright, 26, as a reliever, saying he will work his way back as a starting pitcher.
“He can’t think that level is beneath him ... and he doesn’t,” Showalter said. “What you may see emotionally and whatever, Mike’s got a grip on reality of what’s going on, and it’s not good enough. He’s going to go down and do the things that it takes to get back here. We need him, and it’s as a starter.”
Wright was 3-4 with a 6.12 ERA in 13 appearances (12 starts) this season with the Orioles, but hasn’t gone beyond five innings in four of his past five starts. He will look to re-establish himself in Norfolk, where he was 9-1 with a 2.22 ERA last season.
Around the horn: The Orioles are 32-7 in games in which second baseman Jonathan Schoop homers during his career . ... Designated hitter Pedro Alvarez is hitting .316 (12-for-38) over 12 games in June after entering the month hitting just .194 . ... Righthander Mychal Givens had allowed four runs over his two outings before pitching two scoreless innings Saturday, logging his 11th scoreless multiinning appearance of the season.