Manny Machado on his Player of the Month award (plus other notes)

On Monday an Oriole player picked up the American League Player of the Month award for the first time since Chris Davis was honored in April of 2013.

Manny Machado took the award for April after a month where he batted .344 (33-for-96) with 20 runs scored, 10 doubles, seven home runs and 16 RBIs over 23 games.

It is his first AL monthly honor, but probably not his last. Among AL leaders in April with a minimum of 70 at-bats, the 23-year-old Machado finished first in hits, batting average and slugging percentage (.667), tied for first in extra-base hits (17), tied for second in runs scored, was third in doubles and tied for third in home runs.

What was the key for Machado to play so consistently well in the first month?

"Having a good team," Machado said Monday on O's Xtra on MASN. "Starting off with a hot start. We've been playing good baseball, so any time the team is playing good baseball you have opportunities to drive in some runs and get those hot bats in the lineup. Hopefully I can stay with my same approach, stick with my same gameplan and just keep riding this wave that we're riding."

As the Orioles produced their best-ever start to a season at 7-0, Machado began his year with a 16-game hitting streak during which he hit .397 (27-for-68) with 15 runs scored, eight doubles, six home runs and 11 RBIs.

I asked Machado if he has seen pitchers making adjustments in how they try to get him out after his big 2015 season.

"It is always an adjustment," Machado said. "Series to series is an adjustment. They are going to be pitching you differently. So, you know, it is an every-game situation. You have to pay attention to pitchers, see what they are doing to the other hitters. Kind of see what they are doing to you and then just stick to your approach."

Trumbombs: Orioles outfielder Mark Trumbo produced his second two-homer game of the year last night as the Orioles beat the Yankees 4-1. This time he did it in two different innings. He was an equal-opportunity masher, crushing both a 95-mph heater and an 87-mph offspeed pitch.

Trumbo was asked after the game if he's ever had a month of hitting as good as he has had so far for the Orioles?

"Hard to say," Trumbo said. "It's probably up there for sure. I've had expectations. You can't really put a numerical goal on it. But I wanted to be a contributor."

Trumbo has recorded two or more multi-home run games in five different seasons including two multi-home run games in each of his last three seasons. He leads the Orioles with eight homers. Five of his first six homers this year came off left-handers but both last night were hit off New York right-hander Luis Severino.

Here are some updated stats on pitcher Chris Tillman:

* He is 3-1 with an ERA of 2.81 in six starts.
* He is 3-0 with a 1.46 ERA in four starts against the AL East.
* He is 2-0 with a 1.37 ERA over his last three starts.
* He is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in four home starts.

Bounce-back season anyone? Tillman is reminding us of how well he once pitched for this team. Tillman has fanned nine batters in two consecutive starts for the first time in his career with 18 strikeouts over 13 2/3 innings. Last night he joined Ubaldo Jimenez as the only O's starters this year to go seven innings. He has recorded three straight quality starts and has given up two runs or less five times in six outings. Yeah, he's been pretty good. Trumbo sure agrees with that.

"He's been dominant," Trumbo said. "It seems like he is getting all his pitches over. Seems like if you put yourself in the hitter's shoes on the other side, it is very tough to sit on any one pitch. He is getting everything over for strikes. His fastball is up there in the mid 90s and he's got that good changeup, curve, slider. A tough task to hit against right now."

Bronx bashers: The Orioles have now won six straight against the Yankees dating to last September. According to BaseballReference.com, it is the most consecutive wins the Orioles have recorded against New York since an eight-game stretch from Sept. 19, 1996-Sept. 6, 1997. The club record for consecutive games won against the Yankees is nine, set Aug. 15, 1967-May 22, 1968.

The Yankees are now 8-16 for the season and have been outscored 37-13 during a six-game losing streak. They have lost eight of their last nine road games and have lost five consecutive games against the AL East and are 3-7 within the division in 2016.

Wilmington walkathon: The Single-A Frederick Keys beat Wilmington 8-7 last night and they drew 16 walks in the win. That's the most ever in one game for the Wilmington pitching staff. First baseman Wynston Sawyer went 0-for-1 with five walks and three runs scored. Catcher Jonah Heim walked three times. Third baseman Aderlin Rodriguez went 2-for-6 with a two-run homer and four RBIs and he has a nine-game hitting streak. The Keys (10-16) have won three in a row.