The Orioles wrapped up their second straight 14-win month May 31, finishing with a 14-13 record in May after going 14-9 in April. However, the Birds are trending in the wrong direction, losing seven of their last nine games and falling into second place in the American League East behind the hot-hitting Boston Red Sox.
Let's wrap up the month with a look at the Orioles' best and worst players in May.
Position Players
Biggest Star: Manny Machado was by far the Orioles' best player in April -- and he repeated the honors in May, putting up another sensational month on both sides of the field. Machado led the Birds with a .385 OBP, .566 slugging percentage and .951 OPS in May, scoring a team-leading 18 runs and placing second with six homers. He was just as stellar in the field, despite playing a different position (shortstop) than he did in April (third base). Machado didn't miss a beat in sliding to short to replace the injured J.J. Hardy. According to FanGraphs, Machado has already racked up three defensive runs saved during his 30 games at short this year.
