DAVID GINSBURG
AP Sports Writer
BALTIMORE (AP) — It was a night when both teams lamented a potentially devastating loss.
The satisfaction the Baltimore Orioles derived from beating the New York Yankees 11-3 Monday was dampened by the possibility that third baseman Manny Machado could be headed toward the disabled list with a sprained right knee.
“We’ll just wait for the results,” Machado said in front of his locker, where a pair of crutches stood. “Hopefully it is on the good side other than the bad.”
He will have an MRI on Tuesday morning determine the severity of the injury and whether a stint on the DL is necessary.
“There’s a chance we may have dodged a bullet,” manager Buck Showalter said.
The Yankees had a far different problem to cope with. Their third straight defeat dropped them a season-high seven games behind the AL East-leading Orioles with 44 games remaining.
“This is the team we have. We’ve got to go win with the guys that we have,” New York captain Derek Jeter said. “You can’t sit around and be negative. We have to stay optimistic. You’ve got to have a lot of faith in your teammates and then you’re going to get the job done.”
With each loss to the Orioles, the deficit increases. There are two games left in the series that concludes Wednesday.
“I really don’t think it makes a difference who you’re playing,” Jeter said. “We’ve got to find ways to win games. It’s not like you can exhale when you’re playing a team that’s not in front of us.”
Machado, a 2013 All-Star third baseman, sprained his right knee in the second inning while hitting a broken-bat grounder to shortstop. He dropped on his back in the batter’s box and needed help getting off the field.
He was replaced by Chris Davis, who came up in the fifth against Chris Capuano (1-3) with a man on and New York leading 3-2. With the count full, Davis hit a drive over the right-field scoreboard for his 21st home run.
“Chris Davis was the big at-bat in the game,” Capuano said. “Obviously Chris Davis is the guy you don’t want to beat you. I would’ve liked to have that pitch a little more down in the zone, probably expand it a bit, but I left it up and it caught too much of the plate.”
Nelson Cruz connected with a man on in the seventh and Jonathan Schoop added a three-run shot in the eighth to turn the game into a rout. Cruz now has 31 homers, tied for the major league lead with rookie Jose Abreu of the White Sox.
Bud Norris (10-7) gave up three runs and five hits in five innings, and the Orioles won despite committing three errors — including two on one wacky play.
With the score tied at 1 in the top of the second inning, Carlos Beltran walked and took third on a single by Chase Headley. With Martin Prado at the plate both runners broke. As Headley got caught in a rundown, Beltran strayed off third. He headed home after Machado got the ball, and the third baseman’s throw hit Beltran in the helmet. After Beltran crossed the plate, Headley came around to score after the ball bounced off the backstop.
Beltran and Headley received credit for a double steal, and Machado and Norris received errors on the play — Norris for dropping the ball in a desperate bid to tag the sliding Headley at the plate.
New York got one hit after the second inning, a double by Jeter.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Yankees: RHP Michael Pineda (shoulder) will come off the DL and start Wednesday. Also, RHP Masahiro Tanaka (right elbow) threw from 90 feet 50 times Monday. Manager Joe Girardi said the next step for Tanaka will be throwing 120 times.
Orioles: SS J.J. Hardy missed a second straight game with a sprained left thumb.
UP NEXT
Yankees: Rookie RHP Shane Greene makes his second career start against Baltimore. On July 12, he blanked the Orioles on four hits over 7 1-3 innings.
Orioles: LHP Wei-Yin Chen vies for his 13th win, a single-season career high. He’s 2-3 with a 5.76 ERA in eight starts against New York.
GOING DEEP
Yankees: For only the fourth time in 17 games, New York failed to his a home run.
Orioles: Baltimore leads the majors with 150 home runs and is 34-10 when connecting more than once.
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