Yardbird: Machado homers twice as Orioles beat Tribe

Third baseman finishes game 4 for 4

BALTIMORE — Another poor outing by their starting pitcher left the Baltimore Orioles facing an early threerun deficit and the prospect of another lopsided loss.

Then Manny Machado took over.

Machado went 4 for 4, homered twice and drove in four runs to help the Orioles beat Cleveland 6-5 on Tuesday night and end the Indians’ sixgame winning streak.

After absorbing a 12-0 defeat one night earlier, Baltimore fell behind 5-2 before rallying to win for only the fourth time in 13 games.

“Coming back from the game we had (Monday) night — they really took it to us — it was good to come out ahead against a real good team,” manager Buck Showalter said.

Machado hit a solo homer in the first inning and tied it with a three-run drive in the fifth. Then, in the seventh, Machado doubled off Bryan Shaw (1-2) and scored on a double by Adam Jones.

Machado’s first four-hit game since last August lifted his batting average 13 points to .227.

“Just happy I was able to do something for us today,” Machado said. “We played great baseball. That’s what we’ve got to keep doing, picking each other up.”

Miguel Castro (1-0) worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh to earn his first big league victory.

Brad Brach pitched the ninth for his 13th save, retiring Yan Gomes on a deep fly ball with runners on the corners and two outs.

Orioles starter Chris Tillman allowed five runs and eight hits in four-plus innings, but Baltimore’s comeback enabled him to avoid losing a sixth straight start.

Asked to sum up his outing, Tillman uttered three words: “Not very good.”

The Orioles allowed at least five runs in a 17th consecutive game. That’s the longest run in AL history and just three short of the dubious major league record of 20 set by the 1924 Philadelphia Phillies.

Edwin Encarnacion homered for the Indians, whose season-high winning streak thrust the team into first place in the AL Central.

“Nobody wants to lose, but I don’t think this loss will affect tomorrow,” manager Terry Francona said.

Patrick Semansky The Associated Press Orioles third baseman Manny Machado gestures as he crosses home plate after hitting a solo home run in the first inning against the Cleveland Indians in Baltimore on Tuesday.