Machado, Orioles beat Indians to snap 6-game skid
Manny Machado homered for the third time in two games and Trey Mancini added a tiebreaking two-run double in the fifth inning as the Baltimore Orioles defeated the Cleveland Indians 3-1 on Friday night in Baltimore.
The victory ended a six-game losing streak for the Orioles, who had fallen to last place in the American League East, 11 1/2 games behind first-place Boston. The Red Sox came into Friday on a seven-game winning streak.
Dylan Bundy (1-2) again gave the Orioles a strong start. The right-hander allowed one run on five hits in six innings, striking out nine while walking just two.
Bundy now has a 1.42 ERA and has pitched well in all five of his starts, though Baltimore has lost in three of those games.
In this game, though, the right-hander received just enough while going against Cleveland's Trevor Bauer (1-2). Bundy helped the Indians to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when he hit Edwin Encarnacion with the bases loaded, but did not give up anything else in his final five innings.
Machado tied the game with a one-out solo homer to center in the bottom of the fourth. He hit two homers in the series finale loss to Detroit on Thursday and now has six this season.
The Orioles then took a 3-1 lead when Mancini extended his hitting streak to eight games on a two-run double to center off Bauer in the fifth. Mancini then left the game in the eighth when appearing to hurt his right knee trying to dive for a foul ball. He was replaced by Craig Gentry in left field.
Bauer allowed three runs on five hits in seven innings, throwing 116 pitches in the losing effort.
For Baltimore, Richard Bleier relieved Bundy and continued his strong early-season work with two shutout innings.
Darren O'Day closed it in the ninth for his first save this season.
The Orioles received some good news pregame when closer Zach Britton, out after tearing his Achilles tendon and having offseason surgery, threw off a half-mound for the first time Friday and did fine.
Baltimore is hoping he'll be back by early June at the latest as he becomes a free agent after 2018.
--Field Level Media
