Manny Machado at short and Jonathan Schoop at second has familiar look

When Manny Machado took his position at shortstop last night, not only was he replacing J.J. Hardy, but he was once again forming a double-play combination with his good friend, second baseman Jonathan Schoop.

The two have played a few major league games together as a DP combo, but also many on the farm. Fans in places like Frederick and Bowie have seen how good that duo can be playing together up the middle. They were the DP combination that led Single-A Frederick to a Carolina League title in 2011.

"The memory comes back," Schoop said. "Manny is such a good player. Anywhere you put him, he'll make the adjustments. It is tough to replace J.J. But that is why we go out there and practice and take balls at shortstop and have fun. You never know, if someone got hurt, I might move to shortstop. You have to be ready for it."

Manager Buck Showalter said the fact that Machado and Schoop have played up the middle together on the farm is a plus now.

"It helps. That helps a lot," Showalter said. "I love the fact they have fun. These guys are very close and rightfully so. When you go through things they went together in Aberdeen, Delmarva, Frederick and Bowie, you do. You have a certain bond. Neither one of them will let the other take themselves too seriously. It is kind of fun to watch.

"I love the fact they have fun playing the game. I live through them a lot. It's fun to watch. The last thing you want to do is suppress any of that. It is fun to watch how much fun they have with each other."

Meanwhile, Schoop is trying to get his bat hot again and quietly has put together a six-game hitting streak, although he has just one hit in each of the six games.

Last night, after he doubled in the fourth inning, Schoop scored from second base when he hustled around third on a two-out error near the first base bag by pitcher Luis Severino. That run put the Orioles ahead 2-1 at the time.

"That is why you go hard to third base, so you can score on that play," Schoop said. "If you go lazy into third and then if they drop it, it is too late to start again. That is why you go hard there."

Mark Trumbo's two-homer night supplied the Orioles with their other three runs in last night's 4-1 win over the Yankees. As a player who can the hit the ball a long way himself, Schoop has been impressed with Trumbo's blasts as well.

"He has big power. He's a fun guy," Schoop said. "He likes to joke around with us. Sometimes in BP we joke around that we have more power than him. We really enjoy baseball and are trying to win as many as we can."