Pedro Alvarez heaps some praise on Manny Machado (plus other notes)

When Orioles third baseman Manny Machado swung at an 0-1 pitch and drove in into the Toronto bullpen in left-center field in the fifth inning last night, it was impressive in a lot of ways.

The homer came at a big time. It broke a 1-1 tie and put the Orioles ahead 3-1. It came off 17-game winner J.A. Happ, a strong Cy Young candidate. And it was a blast that went 438 feet. Yep, it was a bomb.

It was also the 32nd of his season and the 100th of his career. Machado became the youngest Oriole ever to 100 homers at 24 years, 55 days. Eddie Murray, at 24 years, 177 days, was the youngest until last night.

Pedro Alvarez said he's been impressed with Machado in his first year as his teammate.

"It's been a pleasure and an honor to play alongside him," Alvarez said. "The scary part is, this is a guy who hasn't even reached his peak yet. He still has a lot to continue to grow and learn as a player. I'm excited to see how he continues to flourish. Been a lot of fun to watch this year."

Last night, not only did Alvarez start against a lefty in Happ, but he hit second in the batting order. He had not batted second since 2010.

No big deal, Alvarez said.

"I'm just grateful for the opportunities that I get and today was no different," he said. "My job is to go out there and compete, and hitting second is just another spot in the order. You still have to do your job and try to see how you can help the team pitch to pitch. The two-hole is just another spot in the lineup."

OK, fair enough and Alvarez did a solid job last night. Entering the game batting just .194 (6-for-31) off southpaws this year, he went 2-for-2 with a walk off Happ, a first-inning double and third-inning single. When Alvarez walked in the fifth, he scored ahead of Machado on his milestone home run.

As for the game, the Orioles needed a win and got it 5-3 over Toronto.

"It's a huge win and I thought it was a well-played game on both sides. Ubaldo (Jimenez) pitched a great game and kept us in the game the whole time. If he doesn't do the job he did today, it could be a different story," Alvarez said.

Alvarez is batting .311 in August with six homers, 10 RBIs and an OPS of 1.045 in 21 games. He has 10 homers in 113 at-bats since the All-Star break.

More notes on the Orioles and Toronto:

* Jimenez has an ERA of 2.55 his last three starts, allowing five runs in 17 2/3 innings. The two O's starters in this series - Jimenez and Wade Miley - have pitched 13 2/3 innings, allowing 10 hits and six runs against the Blue Jays.

* Matt Wieters hit a two-run homer in the eighth to break a 3-3 tie last night. Over his last 15 games, Wieters is batting .314 with four doubles, a triple, two homers and 11 RBIs.

* Wieters' homer came off Jays right-hander Jason Grilli. It snapped a 13-game and 13-inning scoreless streak by Grilli. In his first 33 appearances with Toronto, Grilli had not given up more than one run in any game until allowing two runs last night.

* Happ gave up three runs in 6 1/3 innings in a no-decision last night. Toronto falls to 19-7 in his 26 starts with the loss.

* Toronto's Michael Saunders hit a game-tying two-run homer in the seventh inning. In 14 games this season against O's pitchers, he is batting .434/.500/.906 (23-for-53) with seven doubles, six homers, 17 runs and 14 RBIs.

* The Orioles can pull within two games of the first-place Jays by winning tonight or fall four games back with a loss, so it's a pretty big two-game swing.

The Orioles are 7-8 versus Toronto and 5-3 at home. They are 7-3 in their past 10 home games against Toronto and the Blue Jays have not won any of their previous four series in Baltimore, going 0-3-1. Tonight's game will decide this series after the clubs split the first two games.