Showalter hopes Orioles can return to normalcy

After three days in which the Baltimore Orioles’ focus understandably may have been anywhere but on the actual baseball game they were playing in, manager Buck Showalter welcomed Thursday night’s 8-3 win over the Boston Red Sox.

Manny Machado celebrates after hitting a three-run homer in Baltimore’s win over Boston at Fenway Park on Thursday night.

The good feelings ended a batter later when Red Sox starter Chris Sale buzzed Manny Machado with a pitch behind his knees, and the Baltimore third baseman responded after the game with an expletive-filled tirade during which he said he’d lost respect for the Red Sox.

The bad blood between the teams stemmed from an April series in Baltimore, where Machado injured Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia on a hard slide.

Manny Machado celebrates after hitting a three-run homer in Baltimore’s win over Boston at Fenway Park on Thursday night.

Tuesday’s incident led to a call Wednesday afternoon with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, MLB chief baseball officer Joe Torre, the two managers, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and Orioles general manager Dan Duquette.

Asked if his trots against Boston are longer than when he homers against other teams, Machado said that isn’t the case.