Saturday Bird Droppings - Manny does it again

Machado’s third home run a walk-off grand slam as O’s rally to win - The Washington Post
"[Manny Machado] hammered a one-out grand slam for his third home run of the night, and the Orioles escaped with a 9-7 victory before 26,185 at Camden Yards. It was his third grand slam in the past 11 games, and it was huge for the Orioles, who were on the verge of falling four games behind in the crowded race for the second American League wild-card slot."

Manny Machado on his walk-off grand slam against the Angels - Steve Melewski
"What did he think when he made contact? “You know I got it.” he said. “I was looking for a pitch and I made a good swing on it. Off the bat I knew it would go far. Always good to be in situation where you can give the team a W."

Orioles notes: Rule 5 pick Santander sees immediate action, Tillman could start Sunday - Baltimore Sun
“They’re going to play,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of Anthony Santander. “Something happens every day, you walk in here and two guys are sick and you’re one of 25. … You can’t [just] carry them (Rule 5 picks). They’re going to play. I was hoping we’d kind of be able to ease him into it, but this is fine, too. Sometimes it works better that way, too.”

Kirby on Santander: "He shouldn't be nervous playing the outfield" - School of Roch
"He’s probably going to make a hard adjustment paying attention to how the defense moves. That’s probably the hardest thing. Everybody’s got to go through it. Even (Craig) Gentry. He was coming from a Sabermetric-type thing where you play here the whole time, but we don’t do that. It’s a little adjustment they’ve got to make.” - Orioles coach Wayne Kirby

A 25th anniversary stroll down memory lane - School of Roch
"Glenn Davis admitted today, with tears in his eyes, that it wasn’t easy to come back to Baltimore. But he’s glad that he made the decision, no matter how hard it tugged at him."

The 1992 Orioles engage in some trash talk about Saturday's Home Run Derby - Baltimore Sun
“Brady’s still hitting in simulated games out here,” Cal Ripken said. “I think Brady is setting the home run thing up so he can win.”

Mike Mussina says he had best of both worlds playing for Orioles and Yankees - Baltimore Sun
“I played 18 years, so fortunate to be able to do that, and to play 10 of them here and eight of them in New York,” Mike Mussina said. “I can’t say one of them over the other. I’ve got two teams. That’s the way I look at it. I’m not going to choose one over the other.

Birthdays and History

Happy Birthday to J.J. Hardy and former Orioles Lance Cormier, Rocky Cherry, Luis DeLeon, Jim Lehew, and Jim Finigan. Get well, J.J.! Just, you know, not before Sept. 1. Anyway, they share this day with famous people including airplane co-inventor Orville Wright 1871; fashion maven Coco Chanel 1883; T.V. pioneer Philo Taylor Farnsworth 1906; Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry 1921; Triple Crown jockey Willie Shoemaker 1931; drummer Ginger Baker 1939; Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan 1945; Pres. Bill Clinton 1946; actor Jonathan Frakes 1952; actress Mary Matalin 1953; actor Adam Arkin 1956 (seriously, how is he three years younger than Mary Matalin?); "Full House" heart-throb John Stamos 1963; actress Kyra Sedgwick 1965; former MTV News reporter Tabitha Soren 1967; actor tennis champion Mary Joe Fernandez 1971; and rapper Lil' Romeo 1989.

On this day in Baltimore baseball history...

1902 - Baltimore outfielder Kip Selbach sets the post-1900 mark in the American League by making four errors, a mark tied by Braves flychaser Fred Nicholson in 1922.

2016 - The Astros and Orioles engage in a slugfest in Baltimore, with Houston coming out on top, 15 - 8. After George Springer leads off the game with a homer off Wade Miley, the Orioles set a modern record by hitting four home runs before making an out in their first turn at-bat. Facing Collin McHugh, Adam Jones homers on the first pitch, then Hyun Soo Kim singles, and Manny Machado, Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo all homer in succession for a quick 5 - 1 lead. However, the Astros score 5 runs in the 2nd, and keep going from there to win the game. Springer goes 4 for 5 and José Altuve homers and has 5 RBIs for Houston as 8 long balls are hit overall.

On this day in world history...

1812 - "Old Ironsides" (the USS Constitution) won a battle against the British frigate Guerriere east of Nova Scotia.

1848 - The discovery of gold in California was reported by the New York Herald.

1917 - Team managers John McGraw and Christy Matthewson were arrested for breaking New York City's blue laws. The crime was their teams were playing baseball on Sunday.

1919 - Afghanistan gained independence from Britain.

1934 - Adolf Hitler was approved for sole executive power in Germany as Fuehrer.

1940 - The new Civil Aeronautics Administration awarded honorary license #1 to Orville Wright.

2004 - Google Inc. stock began selling on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The initial price was set at $85 and ended the day at $100.34 with more than 22 million shares traded.

Consider this your conversation space for Bundesliga Soccer: Wolfsburg vs. Borussia Dortmund.