Machado homers in third straight game

Manny Machado seems to have found his rhythm in the South Atlantic League.

The former top Draft pick homered for the third straight game, adding a double and a pair of RBIs on Wednesday, as the Delmarva Shorebirds rallied past the Savannah Sand Gnats, 5-2, for their sixth straight win.

After a 1-for-14 slump spanning three games last week, Machado -- MLB.com's No. 24 prospect -- has eight hits in his last five games and has scored a run in seven straight. The Orioles shortstop prospect is batting .314 with a .410 on-base percentage in his first 18 full-season games.

Machado, whom the Orioles selected third overall pick in last year's Draft, led off the sixth inning with a shot to left-center that tied the game, 2-2. The following inning, he delivered a two-out double, driving in Steven Bumbry with the go-ahead run.

Shorebirds third baseman Tyler Kelly emerged from a 1-for-17 slump with three singles.

Reliever Clayton Schrader (1-1) earned the win after pitching two hitless frames. The former 10th-round pick struck out five and walked one.

David Walters tossed a perfect ninth to notch his sixth save, tying him for the Sally League lead.

The Sand Gnats scored both of their runs on solo shots. Blake Forsythe hit his third of the season with one out in the second and Aderlin Rodriguez clubbed his third in the fourth. Savannah totaled only three other hits en route to its fifth consecutive loss.