BOSTON — Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado will play Saturday night in the second game of a doubleheader against the Red Sox at Fenway Park as his suspension concludes.
Machado received a five-game ban for throwing his bat down the third base line during a game against the Oakland Athletics on June 8. Earlier in that series with the Athletics, Machado and A’s third baseman Josh Donaldson got into an altercation. Each of the incidents resulted in both benches emptying.
Oakland catcher Derek Norris went as far to say that Machado’s actions were “a disgrace to baseball.”
Baltimore has played well in Machado’s absence. The team has won four straight games and hasn’t scored fewer than five runs in each of its last five games (33 runs total in that span).
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Injuries and his recent suspension have limited Machado to 54 games this season. He’s batting .239 with seven home runs, 39 RBI and a .291 on-base percentage. The 21-year-old is struggling to maintain the success he enjoyed in 2013 as a rookie, but he did tally 11 hits in his last 10 games before serving the suspension.
The Orioles enter Fenway Park with a half-game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East Division. The Red Sox will send their top two pitchers, Jon Lester and John Lackey, to the mound Saturday as they aim to end a three-game losing streak.
