Manny Machado on returning to Orioles lineup tonight

CHICAGO - Orioles third baseman Manny Machado returns to the lineup tonight for the first time since Wednesday, when he got inadvertantly spiked by Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen. He missed the next four games.

But his strained left wrist and sore hand made progress each day and he passed the final test here this afternoon when he took early batting practice and fielded grounders. It went well.

"Good. Ready to play and go out there and help my team do whatever we can to get back on the right track," Machado said in the visiting clubhouse.

All four games he missed resulted in Orioles losses. But he is back in his usual third spot in the lineup for tonight's series opener here against the White Sox.

"It is getting there," Machado said. "Been working hard, getting treatments during the game. All day basically. Get that swelling out of there and it's out of there. Still a little discomfort, but nothing too serioius. Not too painful. I felt good hitting and catching grounders. Have to go out and not think about it and just go play."

Will he have any limitations?

"Shouldn't be," he said. "You can't go out there and play scared. I'll do what I can to try and get this team back on track. We've been playing bad baseball. Hopefully, we turn the page and start a nice little winning streak for us."

Machado was asked if a few days off provided a mental break, and whether that might be good for him. He is batting .213/.289/.430 with 12 homers and 27 RBIs. He went 0-for-6 against the Pirates, but in the four-game Boston series before that he was 6-for-15 with two home runs.

"I don't know. I was in there getting treatment and not really thinking about baseball too much. Just trying to get healthy. I don't know. Days off, they are important to stay off your feet and get your today back to where it neds to be. That is biggest thing we can take from this," he said.

It is one thing to be hurt and have to watch your team. But it's another to watch a four-game losing streak in which your team is outscored 44-9.

"It's tough," Machado said. "We had a bad series and we played against a great team. They're hot right now. You have to tip your caps to them. It sucks watching it and not being able to do something about it. At the end of the day, you go through streaks. It wouldn't make a difference anway, if I would have been in there. They (the Yankees) are playing great baseball and it was an unfortunate weekend that is past us now."

Machado said the Orioles look at tonight as a fresh start.

"Oh, 100 percent. Every series is a fresh start. We don't look back. We just have to worry about today," he said.

Machado said he did not remember what happened the last time he was here in Chicago. He hit three homers. In the first three innings.

"Three homers, was that here? Nice. I got lucky that day. The the ball was flying. But that's last year," he said.