BALTIMORE -- Orioles third baseman Manny Machado was placed on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday with a sprained right knee ligament, an injury far less serious than originally feared. Machado took an awkward swing in Mondays game against the New York Yankees and crumpled in the batters box, clutching his knee. He had to be helped off the field and was provided a pair of crutches after the game. An MRI on Tuesday revealed that the 2013 Gold Glove recipient has a sprained ligament. If all goes well, he could be back for the final month of the season. "Obviously, its a great relief," Machado said. "When it happens, things cross your mind and you assume already the worse. But you cant assume anything until you actually see the results and its in front of your face. Im just glad its not as bad as we thought." Manager Buck Showalter expects to have Machado back sometime around Aug. 27, the day hes eligible to return. "Hopefully hell be back then or close to it," Showalter said. "Its not if now, but when." Machado didnt put a timetable on his return. "Whenever I feel good. Whenever Im able to go out there and be Manny Machado," he said. "I dont know when that is going to be. It could be tomorrow, it could be in a month, it could be in three weeks." Machado missed the first month of the season while recovering from surgery on his left knee. This is the other knee, but the 22-year-old insisted he doesnt worry about chronic knee issues. "Obviously, you dont want to be in the position I am in right now. But it is all part of the game," he said. "Those are the things you cant control. Those are things only God can control. So, get it stronger, get back and keep running forward." Machado is batting .278 with 12 homers and 32 RBIs. He has also contributed defensively for the AL East leaders, who entered play Wednesday with a 6 1/2-game lead over second-place Toronto. Chris Davis started at third base for the Orioles on Wednesday. He replaced Machado on Monday and has 74 games of major league experience at the position. Baltimore has purchased the contract of infielder Cord Phelps from Triple-A Norfolk. The team cleared room for Phelps on the 40-man roster by moving catcher Matt Wieters to the 60-day disabled list. Phelps hit .258 with 23 extra-base hits and 49 RBIs in 97 games for the Tides. "Right now hes the best option," Showalter said. The left side of the infield has also been without shortstop J.J. Hardy, who sprained his left thumb Saturday. Showalter said Hardy could be pressed into action on Wednesday if needed, but the Orioles have a day off Thursday and its likely Hardy wont return until Baltimore faces the Indians in a three-game set that begins Friday. "My goal is to be on the field in the Cleveland series," Hardy said. "Not sure which day." Charlotte Hornets Jerseys .C. -- Panthers offensive tackle Jordan Gross is saying goodbye to the NFL after 11 seasons. Frank Kaminsky Jersey . 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The Raptors general manager has his list of possible draft selections whittled down to a handful ahead of Thursday nights NBA draft in Brooklyn, New York. The Raptors, who have auditioned dozens of players over the past couple of weeks, have the 20th overall pick in the first round, as well as the 37th and 58th picks in the second.ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Anaheim Ducks realize theyre in for plenty of tight defensive games in the next seven weeks while the rest of the NHL attempts to catch them atop the standings. In their first game back from the Olympic break, Jonas Hiller and the Ducks handled the pressure splendidly. Hiller made 18 saves in his fifth shutout of the season, Andrew Cogliano scored in the opening minutes, and the NHL-leading Anaheim Ducks returned with a 1-0 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Friday night. With help from a few Blues shots off his posts, Hiller came back strong from the break after posting two shutouts for Switzerland in Sochi. Coglianos early goal off a neutral-zone turnover stood up in a hard-hitting, choppy game between two of the NHLs best teams. "We learned we can keep up with one of the toughest teams in the league," said Hiller, who matched his career high for shutouts in a season. "On a close game, everybody tries to play as tight as possible. You know you cant let up at all." The Ducks were the NHLs final team to resume play, giving extra rest to gold medallists Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry and bronze medallist Teemu Selanne. Anaheim likely needed the break after losing three of its last four before the Olympics, getting shut out twice during just its second significant skid of the entire season. Coach Bruce Boudreau earned his 300th career victory as Anaheim swept the season series with the Blues. With 89 points from 61 games, the Ducks are five points ahead of St. Louis, Chicago and Pittsburgh in the overall NHL standings. "It was a good first game for us in terms of the competition," Cogliano said. "It was really high-paced. Its good to jump into a game like that. ... To hold them to 18 shots is something were proud of." Cogliano put the Ducks ahead just 3:39 in with a breakaway goal set up by Saku Koivus pass. The speedy Coglianos goal was his 18th, matching his career high with 21 games left in the regular season. Brian Elliott stopped 18 shots for the Blues just a few hours after St. Louis acquired star goalie Ryan Miller in a five-player trade with the Buffalo Sabres that included goalie Jaroslav Halak. St. Louis still hasnnt scored after the break, taking its first two shutout losses of the season.dddddddddddd Vancouver also beat the Blues 1-0 on Wednesday night. "Weve just got to put a couple in the net and well get going," Blues defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk said. "Were creating the chances. Were doing a great job of that. But theyre one of the toughest teams. Thats a team were probably going to have to compete against down the road." The Blues made a major move for their post-season stretch about three hours before the puck dropped in Anaheim, acquiring Miller and agitator Steve Ott from Buffalo in a deal for Chris Stewart, prospect William Carrier, two draft picks and Halak, the Slovak Olympian who has been with St. Louis since 2010. "Its tough when friends leave, when you get to know families and get in personal relationships with those guys," said St. Louis captain David Backes, Millers teammate with the U.S. Olympic team. "But from a hockey standpoint, the management and ownership is really committed to winning, and winning now, and thats partly shown in the move weve made. Ryan Miller is an all-world goalie that has shown it time and time again." Miller and Ott wont join St. Louis until this weekend in Phoenix, so the Blues backup goalie was Jeff Tyni, the Ducks locker room attendant. Both teams attempted to make up for their post-break rust with aggressive physical play. Backes and Perry fought in the first period, extending their personal feud. Adding to the Canada-U.S. rivalry vibe, Getzlaf and T.J. Oshie also nearly dropped gloves during the same prolonged scuffle. NOTES: Ducks C Mathieu Perreault left the game early in the third period with an upper-body injury after taking a big hit. ... Stewart was traded on a Blues-Ducks gameday for the second time. St. Louis acquired Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk from Colorado on Feb. 19, 2011, and Stewart made his Blues debut against Anaheim later in the day. ... The Ducks scratched F Jakob Silfverberg, who won a silver medal for Sweden last weekend. D Sami Vatanen, who won bronze with Finland and led the Olympic tournament with five assists, is back with Anaheims AHL affiliate in Norfolk. ' ' '