Orioles: Manny Machado and Chris Davis Getting it Together
May 30, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado (13) attempts to throw out Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Brandon Guyer (5) (not pictured) at first base during the eighth inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Tampa Bay Rays defeated Baltimore Orioles 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
After a slow overall start of the season for the Orioles offense, particularly in the month of May, the current trend seems to be one of revival to a level of play more in line with expectations.
Among Orioles players kicking it up a notch are Manny Machado and Chris Davis. With these corner infielders missing significant amounts of time at the end of the 2014 season, their return to strong offensive contribution was deemed by all baseball writers and followers to be critical for the O’s success.
Their central role in producing runs was seen in the 11-3 Orioles win over the Yankees on Friday evening. Machado was 2-for-4 with a walk and three runs scored. Davis was 3-for-5 with a three-run homer and four RBIs.
But it has not often looked like this over the early portion of the season.
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Spring training looked great for Machado. He played well, and it was clear that the knee surgery issues were very much a thing of the past. But then he got off to a rather slow start offensively, including a 0-for-15 stretch in the first five games. But the season has improved and continues to do so.
If we break down Machado’s numbers in 20-game increments, this is what we see …
| Games | AVG | OBP | Runs |
| 1-20 | .254 | .325 | 12 |
| 21-40 | .316 | .365 | 11 |
| 41-60 | .263 | .318 | 13 |
Manny has been particularly hot in the recent streak of games where the Orioles have posted a 6-1 record. Over the past six games, Machado is 11-for-25 with two home runs.
Chris Davis also struggled early in the season, even as he did accumulate some home runs and runs driven in. But he was also collecting strikeouts at a literal all-time record pace.
However, the rate of strikeouts has gone down, while the offensive side of the game has been lighting up. In his first 20 games he struck out 32 times. In the next 20, it was 30 times. But in the past 19 games, it has been cut to only 16 K’s.
| Games | AVG | SO | HR | RBI |
| 1-20 | .257 | 32 | 5 | 16 |
| 21-40 | .167 | 30 | 3 | 6 |
| 41-59 | .274 | 16 | 5 | 15 |
Chris Davis is currently on pace to hit 34 home runs with 100 RBIs. We could call that a reasonably good season, especially if Davis continues to cut back on the strikeouts and drive in runs in critical situations.
It is no secret that the O’s need these two players in particular to produce in order to have success.