Machado seals opening win in vital homestand
Third baseman's walk-off blast one of O's three homers as Baltimore eyes Wild Card
BALTIMORE -- Three big home runs propelled the Orioles to Friday's 13-inning, 8-6 win over the Athletics, a contest that took nearly 4 1/2 hours to complete.
And the one that ensured the O's would come out on top belonged to third baseman Manny Machado, who delivered his second career walk-off blast to start a pivotal Baltimore homestand off on the right foot.
Video: Must C Clutch: Machado blasts walk-off home run
"Right before that, [teammate Jonathan Schoop] told me, 'Everybody wants to go home, let's go and finish this off,'" said Machado, who responded by hitting his 25th homer of the year. "We needed this win, we needed this win to get us going. … We're just glad we got it over with, however it was."
Machado sent an 0-1 changeup into left field, scoring Caleb Joseph for the Orioles' first runs since the seventh inning. Joseph, who doubled, was mobbed at home plate but still managed to get into the home dugout to grab the ice chest and dump it on Machado.
"It felt great. It was a long, grinding game, and we came out with the win," Machado said. "Kept battling at the end, kept fighting, and it just [stinks] that we gave up the lead in the ninth with those [weak] base hits. But you can't do anything about that."
Instead, Machado -- who also scored in the seventh -- made closer Zach Britton's blown save not matter.
Video: OAK@BAL: Jones ties the ballgame with a sacrifice fly
Adam Jones, who drove in four runs, hit a three-run shot in the fifth while Chris Davis gave Baltimore its first lead of the night on a two-run blast in the seventh.
Video: OAK@BAL: Statcast™ tracks Davis' towering home run
"We know where we are," Davis said of the O's being 1 1/2 games out of the second Wild Card spot in the American League. "We're not checking the standings in between innings, but we know where we stand right now. Every game's important. We have to go out and focus for nine innings or 13 innings or how many innings it takes for us to get a win, and I think that's where everybody's focus is."