Machado shakes off nerves with homer vs. O’s

BALTIMORE — Manny Machado turned his butterflies into an enormous fly.

Making his return to Camden Yards on Tuesday as a member of the San Diego Padres, Machado homered in opposition to his former workforce. In his second at-bat, main off the third inning, the ex-Oriole jumped throughout a first-pitch fastball from Baltimore starter Jimmy Yacabonis and despatched it screaming over the wall in left-center area. The solo blast, which was Machado’s 100th profession homer at Camden Yards, traveled an estimated 455 toes.

Previous to his first plate look within the prime of the primary inning, Machado acquired a roaring, 40-second ovation from what seemed to be a considerably bigger crowd than typical for a Tuesday night time at Camden Yards. He waved to the Orioles followers, then struck out trying with a runner on first and one out.

Machado adopted up his homer with an RBI single to left area within the fourth inning.

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Earlier than the sport, Machado described feeling “a bizarre nervous” as he returned to Camden for the primary time since being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers final July.

“I am just a little extra nervous right this moment to come back there,” he mentioned. “I am by no means nervous. I assume it is like a bizarre nervous, in a method. It is simply totally different.”

Machado was drafted by the Orioles in 2010, when he was the third total choice behind Bryce Harper and Jameson Taillon. He debuted with the Orioles on Aug. 9, 2012, and helped flip a moribund franchise right into a contender, as Baltimore made the postseason thrice throughout Machado’s time there.

A four-time All-Star who is understood simply as a lot for his defensive prowess as his slugging, the 26-year-old third baseman received a pair of Gold Gloves with the Orioles. In 2013, he received the Platinum Glove, an award given to the very best defender in every league.

As an alternative of buying and selling Machado following the 2017 season, with a 12 months left on his contract, the Orioles opted to maintain him in hopes of constructing a return to the playoffs. However Baltimore rapidly light from the playoff image, resulting in rampant hypothesis that the O’s would ship Machado to a contender. On July 18, 2018, the day after he made his fourth All-Star look, Machado was dealt to the Dodgers, with whom he moved to his pure place of shortstop and was a part of a World Sequence run.

In February, Machado signed a 10-year, $300 million contract with the Padres. On the time, it was the biggest free-agent contract within the historical past of North American professional sports activities. On Tuesday, a few hours earlier than the opener of a two-game set between San Diego and Baltimore, Machado admitted that leaving as a part of a commerce was the lesser of two evils.

Manny Machado acquired a standing ovation from the Baltimore crowd previous to his first at-bat Tuesday night time. Patrick Smith/Getty Photos

“I did not make the selection. It was made for me. So it makes it just a little simpler,” Machado mentioned. “They only ship you away, and you are going some other place, throughout the nation, and attempting to fulfill new faces. It is onerous. However I do not assume any of the alternatives are simple. Once you’re right here for thus lengthy in a spot that you simply name residence, you see the identical faces on daily basis, the identical individuals, it grows on you. To go away like that midway by way of the 12 months, it type of sucks.”

As for his return, moreover having steamed crabs for dinner (which he mentioned he would do after Tuesday’s recreation), Machado mentioned he did not have any expectations.

“I do not count on something,” he mentioned. “I count on to go on the market and play baseball and win and simply get pleasure from myself like I do on daily basis. You actually cannot count on something. No matter occurs occurs. You simply take it and luxuriate in each second of it, like I do each time. I do know it is the primary time coming again. I will see a whole lot of followers that supported us seven years, that I noticed at third base, that I noticed within the on-deck circle, I noticed within the first row. These faces won’t ever be forgotten. These followers had been at all times there for us each single day. To see them once more, it is going to fairly enjoyable to see these faces once more.”

Chances are high Machado will see fewer faces than he noticed throughout his time in Appeal Metropolis. Getting into Tuesday’s motion, the Orioles owned baseball’s worst document, at 22-56, and ranked 28th out of 30 groups in attendance, with a median of 16,758 followers per recreation.

The Padres, led by Machado and shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., had been 38-40 coming into Tuesday and three video games out of the second wild-card spot within the Nationwide League.

In 77 video games with San Diego this season, Machado is hitting .278 with 17 residence runs and 49 RBIs.