BALTIMORE (AP) — In his first major league plate appearance since 2022, Vimael Machín looked as though he’d never left.
Machín homered in the eighth inning after entering as a defensive replacement in Baltimore’s 10-7 loss to Houston on Friday night. It was his first trip to the plate in the big leagues since Oct. 1, 2022, with Oakland. He played at Triple-A in 2023 in Philadelphia’s organization before being released and ending up in the Mexican League.
“All I wanted to do is get a good pitch to hit, obviously, and do damage,” Machín said. “It’s been since 2022 I believe. Being back here, I’m not going to lie, I was kind of nervous on deck.”
Machín signed a minor league deal with the Orioles last November. He played for Triple-A Norfolk this year before Baltimore finally called up the 31-year-old infielder before Friday’s game.
Machín played at VCU and was drafted in the 10th round by the Chicago Cubs in 2015. He made his major league debut with the A’s in 2020 and played a career-high 73 games in 2022, batting .220 with one home run.
That was his only big league homer before Friday, when he connected for a solo shot.
“There’s a lot of happiness in the dugout for him,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “It’s neat to see him do that right there, and he will definitely be in the lineup tomorrow.”
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