Davis, Trumbo grinding through
Sluggers have struggled at plate since All-Star break but expect to break slump
MINNEAPOLIS — In a corner of the Target Field clubhouse the Orioles called home for only Thursday, sluggers Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo sat relaxed and told tall tales of the prodigious power hitters t hey’ve played with.
It’s fair to say they’re on each other’s list, and that mixed in with their home run fish tales was some commiserating this week because both mashers went to Minnesota dealing with overlapping struggles for the first time as teammates.
“I think you just have to understand that with power, you’re going to have periods where everyt hing ’s clicking, where you’re swinging the bat well, you’re driving in runs, and you’re going to have periods where you’re going to have dry spells,” Davis said. “The tough thing about having a guy like Mark right behind me is we both swing and miss a lot. So when one of us is going well, it’s good, but when neither one of us is going well, it’s bad. I think we just have to grind through it.”
Said Trumbo: “I think the experience plays far more than [that]. It does help to Jimenez’s strong start spoiled Tonight, 7:07 TV: MASN Radio: 105.7 FM
Twins catcher Juan Centeno tags out Mark Trumbo, who tried to score on a single by Pedro Alvarez in the fourth inning. Trumbo went 1-for-4 and Chris Davis, who also has struggled recently, was 2-for-4. talk about things a bit, but at the end of the day, you’ve just got to have the confidence to know that whatever little blip in the radar that you’re dealing with, it’s going to pass.”
These are the 2016 Orioles, much like the 2014 team: pacing the American League but battling — sometimes justly and sometimes wrongly — the idea that there’s a disaster looming around every turn.
Every aspect of the team spends a stretch, however briefly, in a slump, and while everyone focuses on whether that can be resolved, the rest of the team usually soars. The Orioles spent the first half longing for consistent starting pitching and are in first place in spite of the rotation. Now that the pitching staff appears settled, the players who have combined to hit 52 home runs — tied for most among American League teammates with Edwin Encarnacion and Josh Donaldson of the Toronto Blue Jays — are searching for their stroke after the All-Star break.
To hear Trumbo tell it, there’s no cause for concern. He homered last Friday and Saturday to extend his major league lead, but had just five hits in 40 at-bats in his 11 games before Thursday for a .125/.205/.300 line.
“It’s not ideal, but it’s also hard to say that it’s been an ongoing thing besides this last series,” said Trumbo, who was hitless in a season-high four straight games and 17 at-bats before going 1-for-4 Thursday. “I don’t make big deals out of a bad couple of days, a bad week. There’s just way too much baseball to be played to look into a three-game series.”
Davis’ struggles, compounded by a crippling stomach bug that kept him out of the lineup for three games last week, are more significant.
Davis needed a bunt hit in the second inning of Wednesday’s game to break an 0-for-24 slide. He had two hits Thursday to improve to 5-for-37 since the break, and hasn’t homered since the first-half finale July 10 against the Los Angeles Angels.
He looks at things such as that bunt as the responsibility of a player relied upon for his power when it’s not flowing.
“We’re just doing everything we can night in and night out to get a win,” Davis said. “Just like the bunt last night, just like getting guys over. When you’re not feeling good at the plate, you’ve got to find a way to trigger it, whether it’s drawing a walk, having an eightor nine-pitch at-bat.
“I think nowadays, the numbers are a lot more misleading than they have been in the past. We’re two games in front of the team behind us in the division, we’re in the top of the division, and we’re within striking distance of the finish line. I’m excited that we’re playing the way we are.”
Those two aren’t the only players who can propel the Orioles offense. Third baseman Manny Machado has 21 home runs, and a strong opening to the second half of the season by shortstop J.J. Hardy is lengthening the lineup in a way it hasn’t often been this year. The Orioles have also been boosted by the return of Hyun Soo Kim behind leadoff man Adam Jones, whose bat is getting warmer by the day.
Combine that with the team record his sluggers have helped build, and manager Buck Showalter wouldn’t even acknowledge before Thursday’s game that Davis and Trumbo were struggling.
“The other team’s good, too,” he said. “Guys pitch well sometimes. They pitch well. They do things well. You’re going to have these types of things. The last thing I’m going to do is waver in my support for [Davis and Trumbo]. I realize how hard it is to do what they’re doing.
“They’re a big reason why we are where we are, and it’d be pretty hypocritical of me to start approaching it any other way. Where other people are going to lose that consistency with them, I’m not going to.”
Said Trumbo: “You’re going to be the player that you’ve proven that you are, if that makes sense. You’ve got to roll with the punches sometimes.
“If right now is a period where things aren’t quite as great, it’s unfortunate. But we’re going to put every ounce of effort we have to get where we want to be.”