Machado on his offense, Showalter on facing a knuckleballer

Is Manny Machado's bat beginning to heat up? After a five-game stretch where he went 0-for-17, Machado is 4-for-7 with two doubles the last two games. He had three hits last night. He has been moved back to the second spot in the batting order for today's game. When asked if his bat is starting to get going after last night, Machado was honest to say he needs to see more evidence. "No, not yet. Not yet," he said. "Just because I got three hits doesn't mean anything. Just a good day. Hopefully I keep doing that and keep working on things." In 39 games, Machado is batting .234 with five doubles, four homers and 11 RBIs. He is batting .351 with an OPS of .959 in 10 day games this season, so maybe there are more hits coming for him today as he tries to get it going during a season where his average has not yet been over .246. All the O's hitters today face the challenge of trying to hit knuckleball pitcher R.A. Dickey, who is 6-4 with a 4.20 ERA. He has allowed two or fewer earned runs in seven of his past nine games. I asked Orioles manager Buck Showalter how his players prepare to face a knuckleballer. "What do you got?" he said, open to suggestions. "You know, everybody on our club throws a knuckleball. Jonsey (Adam Jones) has a good one. I told him, 'If I finally let you pitch, will you throw that knuckleball?' He said, 'No, I'm bringing the heat.' "John (Russell) and I spend 30 minutes to an hour each day going over our lineup and the order and everything. The conversation with a guy like R.A. is that there are certain type of hitters' approaches that have a better chance than others. If you see a lot of weak contact today, it's going to be a challenge and he's got a good one." What about the old baseball adage, "If it's high, let if fly and if it's low, let it go?" "It may start up in the zone, but you don't know where it is going to end up," Showalter said. "Anybody that thinks they're an expert on how to hit that hasn't stood in the batter's box. There is no consistency to it. The question is why doesn't everybody throw it?" Showalter pointed out that all knuckleballers have a second pitch they can and do throw. "They all have a secondary pitch they can throw for a strike at will. They've got to have that," Showalter said. "For (Tom) Candiotti, it was a curveball. For Wilbur Wood it was a curveball. "R.A. has fastball command and a breaking ball which is something (Eddie) Gamboa had going before he had a hiccup."