The American League East leading Baltimore Orioles nearly took a huge hit last night despite pounding the division rival New York Yankees 11-3 to open up a three-game set at Camden Yards. Star third baseman Manny Machado went down in a heap at the plate after hitting a ground ball to short clutching his knee. He needed assistance to leave the field.
Following the game word came through the grapevine that Machado, who has previously had a serious knee injury, might have only sprained the knee. "There's a chance we may have dodged a bullet," manager Buck Showalter said.
Machado didn't want to speculate on his own health, telling reporters "We'll just wait for the results. Hopefully it is on the good side other than the bad."
Last year toward the end of the season Machado suffered a torn medial patellofemoral ligament and missed the first month of 2014. "If you've been through what he'd kind of been through in the past, that initial feeling is pretty negative," Showalter said.
""But the doctors have looked at it and everything. He's getting some best-case scenarios that we're going to dwell on until the MRI says something different."
After a slow start to his season Machado had gotten his batting average up to .278 and showed decent power, swatting 12 home runs in 354 plate appearances. He had been phenomenal since the beginning of July-he's hit .311 in 122 plate appearances since July 5, with five home runs, seven doubles and 15 RBI while slugging .554.
He was replaced in the game by Chris Davis, who smacked a two-run home run in his first at-bat that pushed the Orioles ahead for good. He's likely to fill in for Machado while he heals. Davis has had a disappointing season to follow up a 53-home run 2013. This season he's hitting just .197 with 21 home runs and 57 RBI.
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