Machado's big day (5 RBIs) carries O's to split

BALTIMORE -- Manny Machado logged his third four-hit game of the season, knocking in a season-high five runs to lead the Orioles to a 12-3 victory as they earned a split of the four-game series against the Tigers on Sunday.
The O's' 55-56 record moves them 2 1/2 games behind the Royals for the second American League Wild Card spot, while the Tigers slip to six games back.
The Orioles set the tone early when Jonathan Schoop, Chris Davis and Trey Mancini launched three consecutive home runs in the first inning for a 4-0 lead. The blasts continued in the fourth with a solo shot by Joey Rickard -- who had a career-high four-hit day -- and a two-run homer by Machado that chased Tigers starter Aníbal Sánchez after just three-plus innings. Sanchez allowed eight runs on 10 hits, including a career-high five homers.

"Ball was up, they hit home runs. It was pretty simple," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "It was really all about the Baltimore Orioles offense more than anything else. They took advantage of some mistakes. Sometimes you get away with them, today we did not."
Machado then sparked a four-run eighth inning on a two-run single. Davis then knocked in a run on a groundout and Tim Beckham followed with an RBI single.

"Sanchez made some mistakes and our guys were on them," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "They made him pay for the mistakes he made. You knew the ball was going to be flying out of here today. For our pitching staff to only give up one [home run] is pretty remarkable."
• Tigers' Machado makes sweet over-the-shoulder grab
Nick Castellanos hit a solo shot in the Tigers' fifth. Detroit tacked on two more runs in the ninth on a Justin Upton RBI groundout and a Mikie Mahtook run-scoring single. 

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Back-to-back-to-back: With a runner on first, Schoop sent his 25th home run of the season to the left-field seats to give the O's a 2-0 lead, but the offense didn't stop there. Davis followed with a blast of his own to center and then Mancini followed suit. The O's designated hitter barreled a 90.3-mph sinker a Statcast-projected 385 feet to complete the back-to-back-to-back feat.

"It's fun. It's really fun. When you go back-to-back-to-back, you score some runs early," Schoop said. "It's fun when everybody's hitting, and especially when we win."
Bleier buckles down: With runners on first and third and one out for the Tigers in the eighth, Dixon Machado stepped to the plate. Richard Bleier worked ahead 1-2 in the count before forcing Machado to line out to Davis, who stepped on the bag to double up Andrew Romine at first to escape the inning.

QUOTABLE
"I mean it's not something that you don't worry about. But, like I said, baseball is every day. I can put my [mind on it] just [for] today. I think tomorrow is another day. Just keep working, see what's going on and see everything wrong I did today. Just make an adjustment and get better for the next one." -- Sanchez, on laboring through three-plus innings

"Hits are falling. Things are going well and we're playing well. We're playing as a team. People are getting on base. There are a lot of things that are clicking. It's always helps when everyone's hitting." -- Machado, on the Orioles' offense
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
The Orioles hit three consecutive home runs for the first time since Aug. 19, 2016.
WHAT'S NEXT
Tigers: The Tigers will travel to Pittsburgh on Monday to start a four-game, home-and-home series against the Pirates at 7:05 p.m. ET. Jordan Zimmermann will get the ball in the series opener. Zimmermann has thrown at least seven innings in back-to-back starts for the first time since recording four straight from April 30-May 16, 2016. He is 12-9 with a 3.15 ERA in 29 career Interleague starts.
Orioles: The Orioles travel to Anaheim for the first of three games with the Angels on Monday at 10:07 p.m. ET. Dylan Bundy gets his first start against Los Angeles. Bundy went a career-high eight innings on Aug. 1, allowing three hits and no earned runs against the Royals. Bundy worked on eight days rest in that game, and he'll be working on five days rest this time out.
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