Orioles third baseman Manny Machado raised some eyebrows -- particularly in the Orioles television and radio booths -- over the past two nights for not appearing to hustle on a couple of hits.
He hit a long drive at Fenway Park on Thursday that rattled around the triangle in deep center field and cruised into second base with a double, but Orioles analyst and Hall of Famer Jim Palmer clearly thought that Machado should have hustled all the way to third base on the play.
On Friday night, Machado hit a high fly ball to right field that appeared to have a chance to reach the flag court. He apparently thought so, because when it bounced off the scoreboard he had barely rounded first base and had to settle for a single.
Radio broadcaster Joe Angel also got into the act with a tweet that didn't sugarcoat the situation:
"Come on Manny....run!!!!! Did that at Fenway too. Good thing Trumbo didn't hit into. Double play!!#Orioles"
Manager Buck Showalter took no issue with the comments from the two broadcasters, conceding after the game that Machado had assumed those balls would be home runs and didn't hustle out of the batter's box. Showalter said he was planning to meet with Machado to talk about the situation later Friday night.
"I try to keep in mind that he's a young player who has played 200-some straight games,'' Showalter said, "so I've tried to cut him some slack. He's a 23-year-old player and young players make mistakes some times."
Machado has faced criticism for his base running on several occasions this season, but those instances were for overhustling. He got thrown out at third base a couple of times -- once trying to stretch a double with no one out and once trying to steal with two outs and slugger Chris Davis at the plate.
Machado has played every game this season, but likely will get a rest starting Monday, when he is expected to drop his appeal of the four-game suspension that he received for punching Kansas City Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura.