Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis is crawling through a ten-day, 0-for-24 slump, but manager Buck Showalter continues to test him at the cleanup spot.
Davis is penciled in between Manny Machado and Mark Trumbo in the Orioles’ lineup against the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday.
Davis was hitless in four at bats against the Tampa Bay Rays on July 17 before missing three consecutive games with a stomach virus that tore through the Orioles’ clubhouse. Since his return to the lineup on Thursday, Davis has four walks in a 0-for-20 stretch.
Davis is hitting .223 with 22 home runs and 59 runs batted in this season.
The Baltimore Sun reported on Wednesday morning, before the release of the lineup, that Showalter would continue to show faith in Davis.
Showalter told the Sun, “You got to stick with him and trust the track record.” He then went on to point out that the four walks shows that teams are still weary of the damage Davis’ can do with one swing of the bat.
According to Fangraphs, Davis has a walk rate of 13.7 percent this season, which would be the highest of his career. Unfortunately, Davis also holds a 32.9 percent strikeout percentage in 2016. Davis has not struck out this often since his 115-game stint with the Texas Rangers in 2009.
During the 0-for-24 slump, Davis has been called out on strikes 11 times.
The Orioles face Colorado righty Jon Gray on Wednesday night. Gray has just 26 professional starts under his belt in two seasons in the Majors. He has not made an appearance against Davis or the Orioles.
Gray’s numbers this season may be skewed because he pitches in the high altitude at Coors Field. He has given up 12 home runs — seven against lefties — in 102.2 innings. Oriole Park at Camden Yards, while hitter-friendly, does not hold similar comparisons to Coors Field.
Left-handed batters, such as Davis, are hitting for more power against Gray, but only with a .212 batting average.
Davis is hitting .303 against the members of the Rockies’ bullpen in which he has faced. This includes a 6-for-13 mark, with a homer and three RBIs, against Boone Logan.
Logan was brought in to face Davis in each of the first two games of the series against the Orioles. Davis would ground out to end the eighth inning on Monday and strike out against Logan on Tuesday.
Despite the small sample, this shows an inability to sustain success against a pitcher in which he is familiar. This is the type of thing that gets extra emphasis during an extended slump.
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