Manny Machado

Buck Showalter says it all the time: "Sleep fast. " And after spending more than 12 hours at Camden Yards Saturday for a split-game doubleheader, surely some of the Orioles' heads hit their pillows pretty quickly. The Orioles go for the series sweep against the Dodgers this afternoon. They've already won the series, their first ever against the Dodgers -- well, if you're not counting the 1966 World Series of course. One thing's for sure: Adam Jones will be happy to be back in center field this afternoon.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter might not be a fan of doubleheaders, but he couldn't complain about the result of Saturday's split twin bill against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Camden Yards. The Orioles won both games of the doubleheader, getting a career-high four RBIs from Manny Machado in a 6-1 nightcap win that followed their 7-5 victory in the early game. In between, the team honored former manager Earl Weaver, the legendary Orioles skipper who preached the importance of pitching, defense and the three-run homer.

The sight of Matt Wieters' home-run trot ending in a frenetic pile at home plate conjured memories of the 16 straight extra-inning wins the Orioles orchestrated last season. But Thursday night's 10-inning 10-6 win over the Tampa Bay Rays - which ended with the Orioles' first walk-off grand slam in 14 years - deserves its own spot in Orioles lore. The Orioles' first extra-inning game of 2013 came nearly a year to the date that Wieters hit a grand slam to help the Orioles to their first extra-inning win last season, a 10-4 win against the White Sox in Chicago last April 16. His blast Thursday was the Orioles' first walk-off grand slam since Harold Baines' on May 4, 1999 against the White Sox. “Any time you get a get a walk-off and get to celebrate with your teammates, it's a good day,” Wieters said.

One of the things that may have gotten lost in the Orioles' 6-2 loss to the Rays on Wednesday night is that Adam Jones' two-run homer in the third inning was overturned by umpires after a video review of the play. By my count - and I'm using info provided by  baseball historian David Vincent and retrosheet.org - this was the 18th time that the Orioles have been involved in an official review since the policy was enacted in August of 2008. Remember, only the umpiring crew chief can decide whether to use the replay system.

Each Wednesday, blogger Matt Vensel will highlight five statistics that really mean something for the Orioles. .341 -- Matt Wieters' career batting average against the Tampa Bay Rays. Orioles catcher Matt Wieters has been slumping over the past 10 days, and his season batting average dipped below .200 during the New York Yankees series over the weekend. But if there is a sure bet to get him out of his slump, it might be playing the Tampa Bay Rays. Wieters hit a solo home run in Tuesday night's 5-4 win. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Wieters is batting .341 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs in 60 career games against the Rays.

Before today's game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Orioles manager Buck Showalter got on top of his pregame soapbox and talked about how most barehanded plays don't need to be made. He reminisced about his days as an analyst at ESPN and about how he thought the network too often fell in love with a barehanded play that was more style than substance. But third baseman Manny Machado's ninth-inning barehanded throwout of  Desmond Jennings in Tuesday's 5-4 win over Tampa Bay wasn't one of those plays.

Video from Manny Machado's impressive ninth-inning barehanded play in Tuesday night's 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.   Your browser does not support iframes.

NEW YORK -- After going through an early-season 1-for-18 slump, third baseman Manny Machado is starting to find his comfort zone in the No. 2 spot in the Orioles batting order. Since hitting the game-winning home run in the team's 8-5 comeback win in Boston on Wednesday night, Machado is 6-for-12, including a three-hit game Thursday and two hits Friday against the New York Yankees. His game Friday will be remembered for hitting into a triple play that ended the eighth, but Orioles manager Buck Showalter said before Saturday's game that he's proud of the way Machado has put some early struggles behind him in his first full big league season.

NEW YORK - Adam Jones called it a routine play. The Orioles center fielder wouldn't blame it on the cold or the wind or the rain. Regardless of the conditions, he said it was a play he's made before countless times. “Just missed it,” Jones said. “Trust me, wish I could do it again, but hey, I missed it.” Jones' drop of a seventh-inning fly ball to deep center was a costly three-run error in the Orioles' 5-2 loss to the New York Yankees before an announced 35,033 Friday night.

BOSTON - Crazy things happen when the Orioles come to Boston. This wasn't a 17-inning game. No position players had to pitch. But the comeback the Orioles staged Wednesday night was one they needed to salvage this three-game series at Fenway Park. Trailing by two runs, the Orioles rallied for a five-run ninth inning against Boston closer Joel Hanrahan, capped by Manny Machado's three-run homer over the Green Monster in left field that gave them a dramatic 8-5 win. “It was a huge win for us,” Machado said.