With Two Games to Play Before All Star Break, Orioles Rally past Washington and Sit Only 3 Games Behind Division-Leading Yankees in AL East; Schoop Blasts Walk-Off Homer for Baltimore; Machado on Tear with .301 Average, 19 Home Runs and 48 RBI

BALTIMORE, Maryland July 11, 2015 - With two outs and nobody on base in the bottom of the ninth inning last evening, the many fans at Camden Yards in Baltimore were settling back in their chairs for the inevitable extra innings that would follow the final out.  If they are waiting for that final out, they are greeting this new day in their seats.  It never happened.  Jonathon Schoop saw to that.  His two out walk-off blast off of Washington National Relief pitcher Tanner Roark was the margin of victory for the rallying Orioles, who claimed at 3-2 victory after trailing, 2-1, after 7 innings.  After the game and the inevitable pie-in-face from teammate Adam Jones, Schoop told an interviewer that he told on-deck hitter Manny Machado he would hit a double and win the game when Machado drove him in.  He admitted, however, that Machado gave him a choice: hit a double or hit a homer.  His actions indicated his choice.  With two games to play before the Major League All-Star break - which will not be a break for four Orioles: Machado, Jones, and pitchers Zachary Britton and Darren O'Day - the Orioles are 44-42, good for second place in the AL Eastern Division Standings and just 3 games behind the Yankees (47-39).  Interestingly, the Orioles are only 2.5 games out of a wild card berth, even though the Birds are only 3-7 in their last ten games.  AL East teams had given up on the wild card earlier in the season when speculation arose that a team might win the division with fewer than 90 wins.  No AL East team currently sits more than 6 and one-half games off the Yankees' pace.  This is the current AL East picture:
 1. New York Yankees: 47 wins, 39 losses, .543 pct.
 2. Baltimore Orioles: 44 wins, 42 losses, .512 pct, 3 games behind
 3. Tampa Bay Rays: 44 wins, 45 losses, .494 pct, 4.5 games behind
 4. Toronto Blue Jays: 44 wins, 45 losses, .494 pct, 4.5 games behind
 5. Boston Red Sox: 41 wins, 46 losses, .417 pct, 6.5 games behind

Baltimore received a strong pitching performance from Chris Tilman, even though the Oriole ace did not figure in the decision.  Miguel Gonzalez gets the ball tonight for the Orioles.

Major League Baseball reports that Machado is amongst the 50 best offensive players in the game.  He is hitting .301 with 19 home runs and 48 runs batted in.  The last number is mind-numbing when one considers that Machado is a lead-off hitter.