Machado: "We've got 27 outs to do business"

TORONTO - Players gathered in the visiting clubhouse at Rogers Centre earlier today wearing their "We Came to Reign" hooded sweatshirts.

They're like the guests who wouldn't leave.

The Orioles and Blue Jays will meet for the 20th time Tuesday night in the wild card game. By taking two of three games Sept. 27-29, the Orioles improved to 4-6 at Rogers Centre this season.

There will be introductions before the first pitch, but they're really not necessary.

"We've got 27 outs to do business," said third baseman Manny Machado. "We're looking forward to it. We've got the team going OK.

"This is about the next 27 outs. We're in a good position. We know what we've got to do. We're confident in the guys we have in here. We've been grinding the whole year, dealing with adversity, dealing with a lot of stuff. It's coming down to one game."

Machado doesn't put much stock in carryover from winning the last series.

"It doesn't matter," he said. "Last week was last week. This is a whole different ballgame. We're going out there and give our best for 27 outs. At the end of the day, this is what matters. This is what we play for here. We've got to worry about the 27 outs.

"I know they're going to bring their A game. They're going to bring everything they've got. We're going to go all out and leave it on the field.

"We know what we have here. We've dealt with a lot. We've had injuries and people who came in and stepped up. That's the kind of team we have here. We deal with a lot of things, deal with a lot of adversity. That's why we have a lot of confidence in each other.

"We know we're going to go out there and leave it on the field, we're going to back up each other, do the little things that count, that we've been doing all year. At the end of the day, we've got 27 outs to play with. We wanted to be here. Here we are. We've just got to go out there and do what we've got to do."

If claiming the last series doesn't mean much Tuesday, the same must apply to winning seven of the last nine games.

"This is a completely different game," Machado said. "We don't know how it's going to be out there. We don't know if we're going to be hot. We don't know how the outcome is going to be. We can only control what we can control, which is to go out there and just leave it on the field.

"It's one game. Last week was last week. We played 162 games. We grinded them all out, so we're going to try to grind one more out."

Does missing the 2014 playoffs with a knee injury inflate the level of importance for Machado?

"It's always important," he replied. "Every game is important. We fought all year to get here and we're here now.

"For myself, I've had a good year, but it's been because of this team. Just to be here and share this with everyone in here, it's awesome. Any time you come to the playoffs, you've got to enjoy it, every single moment of it, because you don't know when you're going to get back. It's just that hard.

"I'm enjoying it as much as I can. I'm just worrying about the game we're going to play tomorrow."

The champagne and beer didn't have time to dry before the Orioles mentally moved on to their next opponent.

"Just a couple of minutes," Machado said. "We were watching the Blue Jays game. As soon as that game was over, we packed our bags and came to Toronto to play a game. Enjoy it while you can."

The Orioles will relish their role of underdogs as they've done since spring training.

"That's how we are," Machado said. "That's how we think. We don't care about anything outside this clubhouse. We care about the 25 guys that we have here, 40 guys that we have here. Every time we step on the field, we're family, and that's what we thrive off of."

Machado most likely will bat third against Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman. That's the easy part. But does Adam Jones return to the leadoff spot?

Jones is 6-for-15 lifetime against Stroman. Michael Bourn, who led off yesterday for the first time as an Oriole, is 2-for-7.

Hyun Soo Kim is 3-for-7. He's also the guy who came off the bench last week in the ninth inning and hit the two-run homer off Jays closer Roberto Osuna that may have saved the Orioles' season.

Put him in left field and bat him second.

Mark Trumbo is 5-for-11 with two doubles against Stroman. Will manager Buck Showalter be comfortable with Kim in left and Trumbo in right at Rogers Centre, or would he prefer Bourn's glove in right?

Playing Kim and Bourn would shift Trumbo to designated hitter and put Pedro Alvarez on the bench again. Alvarez is 3-for-8 with a home run against Stroman.

Machado is 3-for-12 with a double and home run versus Stroman. Matt Wieters is 5-for-14 with a double and two home runs, Chris Davis is 4-for-13 and Ryan Flaherty is 3-for-11 with a double and home run.

One of them won't be in the lineup. Care to guess?

J.J. Hardy is 1-for-11, but it doesn't matter. He's in the lineup and probably batting ninth.

With Ubaldo Jimenez and Dylan Bundy in the bullpen, the Orioles can exclude Yovani Gallardo and Wade Miley from the wild card roster. They also will omit Kevin Gausman, who pitched yesterday.

The Orioles carried 11 pitchers in the 2012 wild card game, which isn't to suggest that Showalter is a prisoner to the past.

We know that Bundy, Jimenez, Zach Britton, Darren O'Day, Brad Brach, Mychal Givens, Donnie Hart, Vance Worley and Tommy Hunter will be in the bullpen. Brian Duensing could be a third left-hander, and don't forget about Oliver Drake.

Nolan Reimold will be on the roster, but Drew Stubbs also could make it. The final spot seems to come down to Stubbs or Trey Mancini if the Orioles go with 14 position players, and the former probably makes more sense as a defensive replacement and pinch-runner.

We'll find out Tuesday and continue to debate it.