Machado on playing shortstop, Chen on his outing after O's loss to Tampa Bay

When he took the field tonight, playing shortstop for the first time in the majors, Manny Machado said he tried to take it as just another game. When he batted in the last of first inning, however, more frustration set in for Machado and the Orioles. Rays Center fielder Kevin Kiermaier robbed him of a homer as Tampa Bay went on to a 6-3 win over the Orioles.

"Oh, man, that's just icing on the cake," Machado said he thought at the time. "That is how things are going around here. This is how it's going to start? But that is the beauty of baseball. As many plays as I make at third and short and get taken out, it is part of the game."

Machado tonight made his first start at short since Aug. 8, 2012 when he was with Double-A Bowie. How did it go for him?

"Good," Machado said. "Think the reason why we did it was to try and change something up and get a win out of it. We played good baseball, we just didn't hit clutch. Think we are getting somewhere. Just glad that we are going through this now instead of later on down the road where we need to be winning games. Feel like we are just one hit, one out away and it's going to come.

"Buck came up to me and showed me a lineup and said, 'What do you think about it?' I see his point. Nothing is going for us right now and we are just trying to figure something out."

It didn't take long for Machado to feel comfortable again at short.

"It came back pretty easy," he said. "I've been playing there my whole life. I had never played third base until I came up here. It just came naturally. I was just trying to make the plays and as the game went on I was more comfortable out there."

Even though the Orioles did not score in the first six innings off Chris Archer, Machado said he felt there were some good signs early in the game.

"Archer, though four innings, had 80- or 90-some pitches," Machado said. "That tells you we are seeing the ball. We are having quality at-bats. You know, we didn't come clutch. We had a couple of situations - myself, runners on first and second - and it just didn't happen. Like I said, we are one pitch away. We have to live in the moment. Don't try to do too much, just get on base and let the guy behind you pick you up."

Wei-Yin Chen took the loss tonight, allowing nine hits and five runs over 4 2/3 innings to fall to 8-7 with a ERA of 3.36. Chen had allowed three earned runs or less in 16 of his last 17 starts before tonight.

"I think it was my command (that was off tonight)," he said through interpreter Louis Chao. "You have to pitch to the corners. They are major league hitters and if you keep pitching down the middle, you will get hit. I think maybe my mechanics were a little bit off. I just didn't perform well."

The Rays hit two homers off Chen tonight and he has allowed eight against them this year over 27 1/3 innings in five starts.

"I don't know. I have allowed quite a few home runs this year. I try not to, but sometimes things just don't work out," he said.