Orioles remain resilient

The Orioles received good news on third baseman Manny Machado, who's been diagnosed with a sprained ligament in his right knee with no structural damage, but they continue to check the market for available infielders.

Moving beyond the non-waiver trade deadline hasn't made a difference. A player can be traded if he passes through waivers and many deals are consummated before September.

The Orioles nearly had a deal done with the Indians for Asdrubal Cabrera, but he went to the Nationals just before the 4 p.m. deadline. They were in on Emilio Bonifacio, but the Cubs traded him to the Braves.

The search for an infielder continues, and it hasn't been influenced by Machado's injury. The Orioles never quit looking for one.

The Orioles are off today, with Tuesday night's postponed game rescheduled for Sept. 12 as part of a split doubleheader.

It would seem to benefit the Orioles to wait until next month instead of losing their off day and playing without Machado and J.J. Hardy. Plus, this team could use a break.

"You don't know," said manager Buck Showalter. "Anybody who thinks they know exactly ... On paper it might look one way, but you never know what four or five weeks are going to bring.

"(The postponement) was basically because the weather was too bad. We're trying to be fair to our fans, too. Traveling around and floods and the way it was raining, it just wasn't fair to everybody. Unfortunately, we just couldn't get it done. We'd like to have played. No doubt about it.

"Hopefully, we will have Manny and J.J. there and some pitching depth. We have an off-day before it, but who knows what that's going to bring? We may have something happen where we play on that off day between now and then. You do what's best for that day and you live with it down the road. It's yet to be seen if it works out, but it is what it is and we move on."

Each day, the Orioles seem to be challenged to move on from more adversity. They're playing without the left side of their infield, a major blow for a club that stresses defense first.

Well, they have players in those spots. The left side isn't empty. But they've lost Platinum Glove and Gold Glove winners.

Machado is batting .378/.429/.511 with three doubles, one home run and five RBIs in 11 games this month, and he's batting .301/.337/.458 since the All-Star break.

Hardy is batting .406/.441/.688 with three doubles, two home runs and eight RBIs in nine games this month.

Their absences are felt all over the place, but they also give the Orioles another chance to show their resiliency to the world.

"Everybody's got it," Showalter said. "It's part of playing every day. I said (Tuesday), you think about the type of swings guys take with the torque. They set their foot in the hole to throw, the third baseman, catcher at the plate, guys diving in the outfield, guys playing the majority of your games every day. I have so much respect for it because of how hard it is.

"Believe me, Matt Wieters is not a distant memory here. He's very close in our minds, and we understand what he can do. But the season doesn't stop. And the competition, they don't care about your problems. Most of them are happy you got them. The Yankees have faced some challenges. Boston, Toronto, everybody.

"You should never feel the game and the baseball gods are picking on you."

Twelve of Adam Jones' 23 home runs have given the Orioles a lead.

In nine games against the Yankees this season, Jonathan Schoop is batting .379 (11-for-29) with four home runs and 11 RBIs.

The Orioles are 52-28 at night, the best record in the majors. They're also 15-5 at home since June 30, have registered a 2.79 ERA and have held opponents to a .235 average.

How are those fresh eyes working out?

Reliever Darren O'Day has allowed one earned run in his last 21 appearances, posting a 0.38 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 24 innings.

Nelson Cruz has an extra-base hit in four consecutive games.

Just a few ingredients in a winning formula that's got the Orioles 19 games above .500, 7 1/2 ahead of the Blue Jays and eight ahead of the Yankees.