Manny Machado, the young third baseman of the Baltimore Orioles, suffered an injury in the seventh inning against the Tampa Bay Rays. Machado was rounding first base when suddenly, sort of like Robert Griffin III's injury last year, his knee buckled inwards causing him to fall to the ground.
Machado was able to get up and get on the stretcher as staff and doctors tended to him on the Rays' infield. Watch the play yourself, though it is a bit gruesome.
The Orioles were leading 4-2 in this one as they were looking to salvage at least one game in this series that has playoff implications written all over it. The Orioles had lost the first three games of this series, pushing their elimination number down to just three.
With only a week of baseball remaining, the injury is bigger than imagined. Yes, the Orioles are not guaranteed a spot in the A.L. Wild Card, but now, one of their young stars has a chance of never being the same following this injury. There will be rehab and questions regarding Machado's health during the offseason.
Machado's 2013 was one to remember. He led the A.L. with 51 doubles and in his first full season in the bigs, Machado hit 14 home runs with 71 RBI, helping him make his first All-Star Game appearance. He is one of the top players in the Orioles team jammed with stars and without him, the O's chances of making a miraculous run in the final week of the season might have taken a huge hit.
The Orioles are currently 4.5 games back, holding on to the sixth and final spot in the A.L. Wild Card standings.
