Who stood out in the Orioles’ 5-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday afternoon?
In the spirit of hockey’s “three stars” system with the addition of home plate for honorable mentions and other notes, we go around the bases after the fifth game of the 2016 season.
1st — Manny Machado said after the game that he isn’t yet locked in at the plate, but he sure looked like it on Sunday as he went 4-for-4, hitting a two-run home run in the second off Rays starter Jake Odorizzi and scoring two runs. The 23-year-old also showed impressive baserunning instincts in the bottom of the eighth when he scored on a wild pitch by Erasmo Ramirez — even if Matt Wieters astutely alerted him to touch the plate after he had initially missed it on his slide. Machado is hitting .429 and has homered three times over the first five games, reminding us why he’s the Orioles’ best player.
2nd — Brad Brach entered with two outs in the top of the fifth and the Rays threatening to tie the game with runners on the corners, but the right-hander got Brad Miller to fly out to deep right, just the latest example of how effective he is against left-handed hitters. He followed that with a flawless top of the sixth that included strikeouts of Steven Souza Jr. and Curt Casali, setting the tone for the rest of the bullpen to protect a small lead over the final three innings.
3rd — Jonathan Schoop continued his strong start to the season, collecting an RBI double to start the Orioles’ scoring in the bottom of the second inning. The 24-year-old second baseman is now hitting .313 on the young season and has four extra-base hits over the first five games. He also extended his hitting streak to 11 games dating back to last season.
Home — Vance Worley was on a pitch count and hadn’t pitched since the spring finale on April 1, but the right-hander was very effective the first time through the order against a club he’d never faced and managed to get into the fifth with a 4-1 lead. Manager Buck Showalter acknowledged that he probably stuck with Worley too long trying to get him through the inning to be eligible for a win, but he’ll need to go deeper if he’s going to stick in the starting rotation. … Mychal Givens rebounded from allowing three runs in his first two appearances by pitching a scoreless seventh inning that included strikeouts of Logan Morrison and Evan Longoria. … Hyun Soo Kim collected two hits that didn’t leave the infield, but it was a good start for the South Korean outfielder in his major league debut. … Mark Trumbo collected two more singles and is now 9-for-19 on the season, all of those hits being singles. … Pedro Alvarez picked up his first hit of the season and scored the first Baltimore run by evading the tag of Casali. … The Orioles have started a season 5-0 for the first time since 1970. … Yovani Gallardo will make his second start of the season Monday afternoon in Boston and will be opposed by Red Sox ace David Price.
