Orioles back home and out of their division

BOSTON - The Orioles are changing Sox this weekend and the timing couldn't be better.

Out goes the nastiness that unfortunately defined the last series at Fenway Park. In come the non-division White Sox and all-around good guy Miguel González.

May peace be with us.

González returns to Baltimore, where he pitched for four seasons, and I'm confident that he won't be hunting for heads or knees. There's no bad blood between the teams. They won't organize a group hug, but the focus should return to the players on the field.

Maybe the crowd at Camden Yards should boo Manny Machado. He seems to thrive on it.

Machado hit three home runs in the series, making him the first Orioles player with three or more in the same series at Fenway Park since B.J. Surhoff had four in 1998.

The nonsense in Boston branched out in many directions. Machado was asked twice about his home run trots, and told that one report had him slower at Fenway Park than other venues.

(Exit velo on home run trots?)

Asked what he's heard about his trips around the bases, Machado coolly replied, "You tell me."

Well, he seems to take his time.

"I mean, go look at my home runs," he said. "I'm not a rookie. I've got 100-plus home runs in the show and I do the same trot every time, wherever it is. I do the same thing every time."

Now we've got "Trot-Gate" to go with "The Slide" and all those fastballs thrown at various parts of his body.

González is 3-1 with a 3.27 ERA and 1.333 WHIP in five starts and 33 innings. He's 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA and 0.857 WHIP in two home starts and 1-1 with a 4.74 ERA and 1.684 WHIP in three road games.

In back-to-back starts against the Yankees and Royals, González allowed only one earned run in 16 1/3 innings. In his most recent outing in Detroit, he allowed six earned runs (seven total) and 14 hits in six innings.

González made his only start against the Orioles on Aug. 5 and surrendered three earned runs (four total) and 10 hits in six innings at the ballpark formerly known as U.S. Cellular Field. The Orioles won 7-5.

Pedro Álvarez hit two home runs that night, the first off González, but he's at Triple-A Norfolk. Mark Trumbo is 3-for-10 with two home runs lifetime against González. Seth Smith has two hits in 10 at-bats, but it's a double and home run. Adam Jones is 3-for-3.

Smith is a career .377 hitter (26-for-69) with the bases loaded. He delivered a two-run double last night.

Jonathan Schoop has reached base in 21 straight games, one short of his career high set last year.

Tyler Wilson is the first Oriole with at least three straight quality starts against the Red Sox to begin his career since González did it in give consecutive games.

Left-hander Wade Miley hasn't allowed more than two runs in four of his five starts. He surrendered three in Toronto back on April 14.

The walk totals have been all over the place - seven, zero, one, six and five.

Miley is 1-3 with a 5.96 ERA and 1.558 WHIP in four career starts against the White Sox covering 25 2/3 innings. The current group is batting .362 (25-for-69) against him.

Melky Cabrera is 6-for-12 with two doubles and a home run, Todd Frazier is 5-for-15 with a double and home run, and Geovany Soto is 4-for-9 with two doubles.