Orioles shortstop Manny Machado had himself an afternoon on Sunday against the Athletics. He hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning off of Kendall Graveman, cutting into an early 3-0 deficit. The O’s would scratch out five more runs over the next three innings to take a commanding 7-3 lead.
Machado put the game out of reach in the bottom of the eighth. With the bases loaded and no outs, Machado sent a 3-2 92 MPH fastball from J.B. Wendelken over the fence in left-center at Camden Yards for a grand slam, boosting the Orioles’ lead to 11-3.
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Machado is having an outstanding season thus far. He’s batting .350/.403/.691 with nine home runs and 22 RBI while playing exquisite defense at third base and, now, shortstop. He volunteered to move to shortstop following J.J. Hardy’s foot injury.