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Baltimore Orioles Manny Machado named August AL Player of the Month

By Kristen Bentley

BALTIMORE, MD - SEPTEMBER 03: Manny Machado #13 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrates Jonathan Schoop #6 (not pictured) single in the 12th inning during a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 3, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - SEPTEMBER 03: Manny Machado #13 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrates Jonathan Schoop #6 (not pictured) single in the 12th inning during a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 3, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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Congratulations to Baltimore Orioles Manny Machado who was awarded the AL Player of the Month for August.

The Baltimore Orioles third baseman showed his offensive power against some of the toughest teams in the American League.

Maybe it was not being invited to the All-Star Game, but since the teams returned to play after the break, he has been playing better than nearly everyone else in the MLB.

His rough first half was marked by batting averages that hovered around the .220 mark. On May 31, he reached a low of .205 after four games without a hit.

Since the All-Star game, he has been batting .337/.371/.580/.951. And, in August, no one in the American League was better, especially in clutch situations. Machado hit .341/.348/.690/1.039. Only a few other players had better slash lines, notably fellow Orioles teammate Tim Beckham who hit .394/.417/.646/.1.062.

BALTIMORE, MD – SEPTEMBER 01: A detailed view of the baseball cleats of Manny Machado
BALTIMORE, MD – SEPTEMBER 01: A detailed view of the baseball cleats of Manny Machado /

He hit 12 home runs and so did Josh Donaldson and Gary Sanchez. But, Machado led the AL in RBIs with 35. Adrian Beltre was the closest with 30.

While RBIs and home runs are impressive, the fact that Machado only struck out 11 times in the month of August is also notable. He had 126 at-bats and he struck out in only 8% of them. That is impressive. In comparison, Aaron Judge had 41 strikeouts in 92 at-bats and Justin Upton, who hit 11 home runs in August, struck out 40 times.

What separated Machado from the rest of the bunch was his ability to come up big in clutch situations. Twelve of his 35 RBIs were from three Grand Slam home runs. He hit two against the Los Angeles Angels on August 7 and 18 as well as one against the Seattle Mariners on August 14. But, the most notable game of the month was August 18 when he hit three home runs, capping the game with a walk-off grand slam.

This is not Machado’s first Player of the Month award. His first was awarded for his performance in April 2016. During that month he hit a slash of .344/.394/.667/1.061. He hit 7 home runs, 16 RBIs, and 10 doubles. He earned an invitation to the All-Star Game in 2016.

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Machado is not the only Orioles player who is performing well in the second half. Welington Castillo continues to hit home runs at a speedy clip. In fact, he has hit eight of them in past 30 days. Adam Jones and Tim Beckham have combined for 15 doubles within the last 30 days, too. Jonathan Schoop is also continuing his consistent pace with a .331 batting average in the last 30 days.

Overall, the Orioles have been one of the best team in the MLB in August. They went 17-12 with winning percentage of .586. During the month of August, only the Red Sox, Indians, Twins, and Astros had better records in the American League.

Next: Why Trey Mancini should be the AL Rookie of the Year

Hopefully, Machado will continue his success at the plate as the Orioles fight for a spot in the playoffs.

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