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BALTIMORE -- Manny Machado keeps making big plays in the field and at the plate in what's becoming a true break-out season. He did it yet again on Friday night. Machado greeted right-hander Aaron Brooks with a two-run homer with one out in the bottom of the 13th inning to give the Baltimore Orioles an 8-6 victory over the Oakland A's.
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The third baseman came up after catcher Caleb Joseph doubled off left-hander Drew Pomeranz (4-5) with one out in the inning. Pomeranz left with left forearm tightness, forcing Oakland manager Bob Melvin to quickly move Brooks into the game.
Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop went over to Machado before the at-bat and mentioned that everyone wants to go home, and this would be the time to finish things off. Machado, who finished 2-for-6 overall, then made everyone happy by lining an 0-1 pitch into the left-field seats for his second career walk-off homer.
"It felt great," Machado said. "We needed this win to get us going. These games count from now on, every single inning, every single pitch is going to make a difference."
The Orioles (58-56) ended their two-game losing streak with the win while handing the A's (51-66) a fourth straight loss in the opener of this four-game series.
Baltimore now is 1 1/2 games out in the wild-card race.
Oakland forced extra innings by scoring two runs off Orioles closer Zach Britton to tie the game in the ninth. That ended a streak of 24 straight converted save chances for the left-hander, who pitched well in that ninth, giving up a few softly-hit infield singles that proved costly.
The Baltimore bullpen needed to come through again after right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez lasted just five innings. He gave up four runs, but six relief pitchers held the A's to two runs in eight innings.
"That was a pretty impressive job by our bullpen," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "I wanted to keep somebody for length tomorrow. Hopefully because of the way we used them we'll still have some people available tomorrow."
That's why rookie right-hander Jason Garcia (1-0) came on in a 6-6 tie in the 13th. He retired the A's in order and earned his first major league victory. The Rule 5 pick needed just six pitches to get through the inning.
Extra innings didn't appear to be on the horizon early because Oakland scored single runs in the second and fourth. The A's made it 4-0 in the fifth when catcher Stephen Vogt hit a two-run homer off Jimenez.
The Orioles cut the lead 4-3 thanks to Jones' three-run homer off left-handed starter Brad Mills in the fifth.
"Any time you have a 4-0 lead, you feel you're in a pretty good position to win the game," Melvin said. "Just a three-run homer -- and that's what they do is hit home runs -- got them right back in it."
The Orioles then tied the game in the seventh on a Jones sacrifice fly -- his fourth RBI -- to short center off left-hander Fernando Abad.
That scored Machado, who deftly dodged the tag of Vogt to touch the plate. Davis came up next and battled Abad through an eight-pitch at bat before crushing a 1-2 pitch on to Eutaw Street for a two-run homer that gave Baltimore a 6-4 lead.
Britton came on in the ninth and couldn't hold it, giving up two runs for just his second blown save this season. Third baseman Danny Valencia tied the game with a two-out RBI single.
"They hit some balls off the plate, some balls that we couldn't field," Britton said. "One of the those days. That happens with the sinker, it's happened before and it's not going to be the last time."
The A's took a 1-0 lead with a two-out rally against Jimenez in the second. Left fielder Coco Crisp got his first RBI of the season -- in at-bat number 74 -- with a soft single to center that scored second baseman Brett Lawrie.
Shortstop Marcus Semien then hit another soft single to center, but Jones threw out designated hitter Billy Butler at the plate to keep the score 1-0.
Center fielder Billy Burns then reached on an infield single, a soft grounder that Machado couldn't handle, allowing Butler to score in the fourth. But Machado then threw out Crisp trying to score on the play, ending the inning with the A's leading 2-0.
Crisp went 4-for-6 with three doubles after entering the game with an .096 batting average.
Vogt then drilled his two-run homer to right in the fifth for the four-run lead, drawing a smattering of boos from the Baltimore crowd. He finished the night 3-for-5 with two RBIs, but the Orioles' power attack brought them back.
"We just made three bad pitches tonight," Vogt said. "That's the story of the game. And, unfortunately, they hurt us."
NOTES: Orioles manager Buck Showalter said RHP Chris Tillman will throw on Saturday and, if all is well, start the finale of this series on Monday. Tillman was hit a few inches above the right elbow in Seattle earlier this week. ... The Orioles had a pregame ceremony inducting former 3B Melvin Mora, LFs John Lowenstein and Gary Roenicke (they were a platoon duo) and scout Fred Uhlman Sr. into the team's Hall of Fame. ... Oakland manager Bob Melvin said RHP Sonny Gray, the scheduled starter for this game who was sidelined by back spasms, is doing better and will throw a bullpen session Saturday. But he won't start before Monday.
