Machado back in lineup after day off
OF Smith out of lineup after being hit in face by foul ball Thursday
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was back in the Orioles lineup for Friday’s series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays a day after missing his first game of the season Thursday in Detroit.
MachadohadplayedeveryinningofeachoftheOrioles’ 38gamesthis season before Thursday, and Orioles manager Buck Showalter said the star third baseman was dealing with a sore finger that was in part caused by hitting balls off the end of his bat.
Machado said Friday that he could’ve played Thursday, joking that he was “benched” for the first time in his big league career.
“It’s not a big deal though,” Machado said of his finger. “That’s normal stuff. That’s normal baseball. I mean, everyone in the big leagues hits the ball off the end of the bat and the finger rattles. It’s just a part of the game. It’s nothing serious. It’s just part of the game. It’s nothing serious. It’s just part of it. I don’t think that’s one of the reasons why I didn’t play yesterday. I could have played. I just got benched, like I said.” It’s likely nocoincidence that Machadosat Thursday with umpireCB
behind home plate. Machado became irate after a checked swing at first base by Bucknor that ended Wednesday’s loss to the Detroit Tigers.
“He was real upbeat about today,” Showalter said of Machado. “The thing that made me give him a day more than anything was his ability to grip the ball.”
Machado played all 162 games two seasons ago and has played in 358 of 364 regular-season games since the beginning of the 2015 season. He missed four gameslast June serving a suspension for his altercation with Yordano Ventura and missed another game with an illness in July.
“That was the first time I’ve ever been on the bench,” Machado said. “It was weird, very weird.”
Machado, who entered Friday leading the Orioles with nine homers and 23 RBIs but was hitting just .224/.308/.441, saw the pluses and minuses of getting a day off.
“You know what, it does [help] and it doesn’t,” Machado said. “Every time when you get a day off and you come back to play, you kind of feel a little sluggish in a way. You try to keep yourself [active].” Smith out of lineup: Outfielder Seth Smith, who was hit in the face by a ball he fouled off home plate in Thursday’s game, did not start Friday.
Smith was hit just under his left eye in the fifth inning of the Orioles’ 6-5 loss to the Tigers, but remained in the game, homered in his next at-bat andfinished the game. Hewouldnothavehitifhisturncameupin the ninth inning.
“I thought there was a danger issue there,” Showalter said. “You do need to see the ball to hit, so that wasachallenge. He’s hadsomeofthis in the past. We all know our eyes real well, how we respond to different things. We kept the ice on in between innings.”
Before Friday’s game, Smith hit in the team’s indoor cages and also tookfly balls hit to himfromfirst base coachWayneKirbytotesthiseye. But he still did not start.
Asked whether Smith went through a concussion protocolThursday, Showaltersaidhebelievedhehad. Bullpen back to full strength: Showalter said his beleaguered bullpen went into Friday in “pretty good shape” physically after a rocky road trip.
Orioles relievers were charged with four of the team’s six losses and two blown saves while compiling a 5.74 ERA on the trip.
and Mychal have all been off since Tuesday, when the bullpen struggled to hold leads of 7-1 and11-8 in Detroit.
Short starts forced the Orioles to dig deep into their supply of optionable relievers on the trip, making three roster moves to add reinforcements in Detroit — calling up left-hander and right-handers and all of whom remained in the bullpen Friday. Smith Around the horn: The Orioles’ recently completed road trip was their first with at least six one-run losses since 1955, the team’s second year in Baltimore, according to Stats LLC. … The Orioles entered Friday leading the American League in average with runners in scoring position (.314, 85-for-271) and outfielder led the majors with a .476 average (10-for-21). … The Orioles recognized the winner of Major League Baseball’s honorary bat girl contest, at Friday’s game. Shaw has endured multiple surgeries and rounds of chemotherapy treatment and begun a new career in mammography to help other breast cancer patients.