Baltimore Orioles First Baseman Chris Davis Expected to Start in Atlanta
Baltimore Orioles’ Chris Davis will likely return to the starting lineup on Friday when the Orioles play the Atlanta Braves.
Baltimore Orioles slumping first baseman Chris Davis hasn’t played since June 11 after being benched by Orioles manager Buck Showalter.
However, after spending considerable time on the bench this month, Showalter announced Davis will likely return to the Orioles lineup on Friday when the Orioles begin their three-game series at the Atlanta Braves, per Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com
The 2013 and 2015 home run king has just four homers in 52 games this season and is batting a dismal .150 with 15 RBIs as the Orioles enter the midway point of the season. In fact, ESPN baseball analyst Dan Szymborski pointed out via Twitter that Davis is on pace for the worst season in MLB history.
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Davis is in the third year of a seven-year deal worth $161 million, which is the wealthiest contract on the Orioles roster. Davis’ megadeal puts the Orioles in a challenging situation and is a major factor in the Orioles inability to sign Manny Machado to a long-term deal to keep him in Baltimore.
Despite only playing in 57 games so far this season, Davis’ 86 strikeouts is tied for sixth in MLB with Trevor Story and Justin Upton, who both have played at least 70 games this season.
Leading up to his benching, Davis batted .144 in May with just 13 hits in 90 at-bats, along with 39 strikeouts and two doubles. In the last 30 games, he’s produced a .108 batting average with 32 strikeouts and no home runs.
Since signing his huge contract following the 2015 season, Davis’ strikeout rate has sailed in each season with a 32.9 percent strikeout rate in 2016, 37.2 percent in 2017 and so far he’s striking out at a 37.6 percent rate.
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In his career against the Braves, Davis is 2-for-20 with seven strikeouts and his only two hits were home runs. In the series opener in Atlanta, Davis and the Orioles face starting pitcher Sean Newcomb, who has an 8-2 record and a 2.70 ERA.