Machado answers critics in 5-2 victory (with quotes)

BOSTON - Manny Machado was greeted with a chorus of boos tonight as he stepped to the plate in the first inning, cast again as the villain for his slide into Dustin Pedroia when the Orioles and Red Sox met in Baltimore. Machado heard the same noise in his next at-bats. America's most beloved ballpark doesn't come with a mute button.

He turned a hostile environment into his own playground.

Machado put on a defensive show in the Orioles' 5-2 victory over the Red Sox, eliciting a few gasps from Boston writers planted in the first row of the press box. And he had something else for them later.

Machado gloved a scorching ground ball between his legs from Mookie Betts and started a double play to end the first. He charged Hanley Ramirez's roller in the second and threw him out, then darted toward the line to grab Pedroia's grounder and fire to second for the force after Mitch Moreland drew a nine-pitch walk.

The last two throws were off-balance, but Machado was in complete control.

The Red Sox put two runners on base against Dylan Bundy in the fifth inning on a walk and Sandy Leon's bunt single against the shift, but Machado made a sprawling stop of Xander Bogaerts' bullet, spun and fired to second for the force to end the threat. A few writers chuckled. Is this guy for real?

Of course, Machado handled the last ball hit on the night, making a diving catch to his right to rob Chris Young.

With more boos cascading upon him in the sixth, Machado demolished a slider from Rick Porcello, clearing everything in left field for a solo home run that gave the Orioles a 2-0 lead.

Machado made the slow trot toward first base, admiring a ball that disappeared into the night and may have left the county. He bashed forearms with Chris Davis as he walked toward the dugout. He was in no hurry, savoring the moment.

It's not like this guy is all-glove, no-hit.

Bundy's arm got him through seven shutout innings, but the Red Sox opened the eighth with three straight hits and Darren O'Day entered the game with the Orioles leading 5-1.

Marco Hernandez doubled and Bogaerts got a cheap single when his fly ball fell between Ryan Flaherty and J.J. Hardy, the latter backing off at the last instant. Andrew Benintendi lined an RBI single up the middle and Bundy was finished at 111 pitches.

Hanley Ramirez lined an RBI single off O'Day with one out to reduce the lead to 5-2, but Ramirez kept motoring to second base, which already was occupied by Benintendi. Another costly mistake by the Red Sox.

Adam Jones raced in and made a tumbling grab of Moreland's liner to preserve the three-run lead and Brad Brach recorded his fifth save to tie Zach Britton for the team lead.

The Orioles improved to 16-8 and regained sole possition of first place in the American League East.

Bundy was charged with two runs and five hits in seven-plus innings, with four walks, two strikeouts and a hit batter. He's surrendered four runs in his last four starts, covering 26 1/3 innings.

The Orioles' had increased their lead to 5-0 with three unearned runs in the top of the eighth, and Machado garnered another RBI when Hernandez misplayed his ground ball with runners on the corners. Reliever Heath Hembree fielded Jones' comebacker earlier in the inning and fired the ball into center field, allowing pinch-runner Craig Gentry to take third base.

Mark Trumbo followed with an RBI single, and the Red Sox committed their third error of the inning on Benintendi's errant throw that allowed the runners to advance. Davis lined out to right field for a sacrifice fly to complete the scoring.

There was a tense moment in the sixth when Bundy came inside on Betts and then hit him on the left hip. Betts didn't look at Bundy, but he took his time walking to first base. The crowd offered the predictable response.

Bundy was working on a two-hit shutout at the time and protecting a 2-0 lead. He went back to work and retired Hanley Ramirez on a fly ball and Moreland on a pop up, then retired the side in order in the seventh to leave him with 99 pitches.

Showalter let him come back out for the eighth, and his outing lasted only three more batters. Showalter also chose to keep Flaherty in left field, but he replaced Seth Smith with Gentry in right.

Joey Rickard pinch-ran for Flaherty in the ninth after another Hernandez error.

Bundy's fastball was touching 93 mph early on and his outs were skidding in the grass. Eleven of them recorded via the ground ball within the first four innings, including a pair of double plays.

Bundy walked three batters through the fourth, his highest total among his six starts. Bogaerts had the only hit off him, a two-out double in the third on a ball that cleared Flaherty's head in left field.

Caleb Joseph couldn't buy an RBI last season. Now, he's like Scrooge McDuck in a pool of gold coins.

Joseph followed his two-run Saturday night in the Bronx with an RBI double tonight in the fifth inning, breaking a scoreless tie. Jonathan Schoop led off with his second hit, J.J. Hardy struck out, Flaherty flied out and Joseph found the gap in left-center field.

Joseph didn't collect an RBI in 141 plate appearances last season. His double tonight gave him three in his last three plate appearances, starting with his two-run shot in the ninth inning off Yankees reliever Tommy Layne.

Porcello allowed two runs and five hits in six innings, with no walks and seven strikeouts - three of them against Davis. He left after 108 pitches, the first 11 to leadoff hitter Seth Smith in the first inning. Smith worked him for 21 pitches in three at-bats.

Machado on win: "You know what? We came out with a W. That's all that matters. Dylan threw a hell of a game. We did all the little things that we needed to do as a team overall, so it was a fun game. We played great defense overall and we came out with a win. We've just got to continue it and continue this long series. Just worry about tomorrow now."

Machado on whether crowd motivated him: "I just go about my business. I've got to come out here and perform regardless, whether they boo me or whether they don't. I've got a job to do and that's what I went out there today and did."

Machado on whether incidents of last week are over: "I mean, it's been over. It's been over. We're just here trying to play baseball. I know both teams are going to try to win a pennant, and we just have to go out there and just keep playing baseball like we've been doing and not worry about those things. Those things are, like I said before, it's short-term memory. We leave it in the past and move forward."

Machado on whether he had a slow trot after homer: "I mean, that's normal. Nothing different. I see the ball like I always do and I start running the bases."

Machado on whether it was satisfying and challenging at third: "Those balls were coming in hot. Those were tough hops and I was just making good plays on them. Sometimes, you get lucky and you just stick the glove out there and it sticks. It wasn't an easy night at third, but me and Bobby (Dickerson) have been talking about staying a little more focused and doing the little things."

Machado on his favorite play: "I think the last one was nice. I think my last diving catch was the best one. It was just the cherry on the cake."

Machado on Jones: "He had a great day, too. That's Adam. Half of those balls that were hit out there, those are tough. At one point I was saying, 'Oh, that's going to drop,' and then I see Adam come up there and he just stays with hit and stick his glove out at the last second. He's just unbelievable to watch out there."

Showalter on defense: "I'd like to say that's the best defensive game I've seen Manny have, but he's had a few of those. I was telling him, 'It's kind of like the basketball game where you isolate Larry Bird or somebody and get out of his way.' Trying to figure out a way where they hit it towards Manny.

"I cannot tell you how hard those plays are, and Adam put on a show out there, too. I thought Ryan made a couple of good plays, one down in the corner and one coming in. We needed all of them. They hit a lot of balls hard that our guys defended well, and Dylan was good again. And defense made him good, too. He'll be the first to tell you."

Showalter on expecting Machado to come up big: "That's exactly right. You would expect it. Certain guys don't mind that. Not that they want it. It's just that they don't mind it ... Manny's a confident guy. He's very respectful of the game and his teammates. He's a historian of it, and he knows things. He likes baseball. He likes competing. He's accountable. When something doesn't go right, he's the first one to say it. We were proud of him tonight."

Showalter on Bundy throwing more fastballs: "Two-seam, four-seam, he reached back and got 95 a couple of times when he needed it. Changeup some. I know he's frustrated he didn't get the call with Hernandez before he hit the ball off the wall and he had to give in and throw him fastballs.

"He's learned that more is not better. You go through a lot of things he's been through physically and you develop a really good changeup out of it. Of course, he knows it's not going to be every night where he can just sit there ... It's not overpowering unless he needs to. He'll go up the ladder when he needs to. Caleb did a nice job with him, too."

Showalter on how team rebounded from two losses in New York: "The same way with relief pitchers - Darren, Brad. Those are tough situations coming in, too. It's a tough night to play. It's wet, cold, windy, people throwing peanut bags. You name it. That's why they do what they do.

"I tell them all the time, bring something that separates you. Tonight, just like Boston, they look forward to situations that can separate them. It was a good night to see what tomorrow brings."

Showalter on Joseph: "Caleb's been putting some good at-bats together for about his last three or four games. He hit some balls hard at people. We feel fortunate to have that type of depth at the catching position."

Showalter on Bundy pitch that hit Betts: "I think he had four walks tonight. How many walks did he have? Four walks. I didn't think he was trying to hit anybody, obviously."

Bundy on defense: "It's awesome. Those guys are making plays, diving all over the place tonight, and they got me some double play balls. I've got to tip my hat to my defense tonight."

Bundy on how he felt: "It was spotty. I'd have command for a couple hitters, then I'd just lose it on a few guys here and there. I don't know, I made good pitches when I needed to, and I need to tip my hat to the defense tonight."

Bundy on using his fastball more: "I liked the two-seamer tonight. It was moving, it was actually moving this time, so me and Caleb were throwing a lot more two-seams, and then four-seamers in to lefties tonight."

Bundy on pitching into eighth inning: "I felt great out there in the eighth inning and I really wanted to finish the eighth so I could give the bullpen a little bit of a break, since we had some extra-inning games the past few days."

Bundy on whether his fastball that hit Betts just got away from him: "Yeah."

Joseph on contributing at the plate: "It's great, especially against a Cy Young winner. It's tough up there. He had me in a hole there and I was just fortunate to put the barrel on the ball. Schoopy was running really hard. The more at-bats you get, you start to feel a little more comfortable, and a lot of credit has to go to Scott Coolbaugh and Howie Clark. They've really been working with me and sticking with me and allowing me to share some thoughts, bounce some stuff off the wall here and just see what happens. They've just done a tremendous job and I'm feeling confident. Hopefully, that continues."

Joseph on Machado and Jones: "They're Gold Glove-caliber players for a reason. We've got them all across the infield. It's special. That's what happens. When we can allow the hitters to put the ball in play and force early contact, we can make spectacular plays. We don't want to depend on that, but we have the ability and Dylan did a great job of doing that.

"I think his pitch count was really, really manageable the entire game and he kept filling the zone up. That's hard to do with that little small wall up there, and in a tight game that's hard to do."