Davis takes a seat again at Fenway Park
O’s plan to play struggling slugger again this season; Sisco near return
Orioles manager Buck Showalter said before the first game of Wednesday’s split doubleheader at Camden Yards that first baseman Chris Davis’ season wasn’t over, but that he wouldn’t handicap whether he’d be in the second game’s lineup. “Chris will play again, yes,” Showalter said. Davis, has played six times in the past two weeks, and his most recent start wasSaturday at the NewYorkYankees. Hesat Sunday in NewYork, Monday at Fenway Park and the first game Wednesday.
After reaching the relative high-water mark of a .180 batting average on Sept. 5, Davis has dipped to a league-low .168, going 1-for-37 with 20 strikeouts in 40 plate appearances in the 10 games since.
The time off won’t spare Davis from qualifying to have the lowest batting average in major league history. Should the Orioles play their full 162-game schedule, 502 plate appearances will qualify one of their players for the batting title. Davis entered Wednesday with 522 plate appearances. Peterson pitches in rout: Throughout this difficult Orioles season, infielder Jace Peterson has been on call to pitch in a late-gamesituation when Showalter had no other options.
Despite expanded September rosters, the Orioles required Peterson to pitch Wednesday in their 19-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox in Game1of a doubleheader, making him the fourth position player to pitch this monthin the majors and the Orioles’ first since DannyValencia pitched Aug. 2.
Peterson entered the game in the seventh inning at second base, and before he could make it back into the dugout once Cody Carroll finished the inning, Showalter sent him out to the bullpen to warm up.
“You know how much I detest doing that, especially in September,” Showalter said. “We’ve been talking about it for a while. Heknewhewas the guy. … That’s Jace. He’s a pro. I know he’s frustrated he wasn’t able to get them out.”
Peterson, whose fastball started the inning around 90 mph and topped out at 92.5 — just as he told Showalter it would — allowed a leadoff single to Mitch Moreland before starting a 1-6-3 double play on a soft chopper from Ian Kinsler.
Rafael Devers hit a massive home run with two outs, and Peterson could have been out of the inning on a ground ball to first baseman Caleb Joseph, but he didn’t break to first to cover the bag. Three hits later, Peterson had allowed four runs on six hits.
Showalter got different results last time he needed a position player to pitch, using Valencia for a scoreless inning in Texas on Aug. 2. Sisco could be active this weekend: Catcher Chance Sisco, who is being treated for a concussion after a foul tip to the mask Sept. 16, will be checked to see if he can play the final weekend of the season, Showalter said.
“He’s still got, they think, the back-end of the concussion symptoms,” Showalter said. “I’ve talked to [head athletic trainer Brian Ebel] about it last night, and again today. We’re hoping that clears up and he passes the test. I think they’re getting close to being able to retest him. I’d like himto end up active. It’d be a good way to go home. That’s what we’re hoping.”
Sisco didn’t have a hit in 11 plate appearances once he was recalled Sept. 3 for what was his third stint in the majors this year. The Orioles have been operating with only Caleb Joseph and Austin Wynns as the catchers despite expanded rosters. Starters take shape: The Orioles will piece together Wednesday’s games out of their bullpen, with right-hander Ryan Meisinger starting the first game and the second game contingent on how the first game goes.
But Showalter said right-handers David Hess, Yefry Ramírez and Dylan Bundy are in line to start the first three games of the season-ending series against the Houston Astros at Camden Yards.
Ramírez needed a couple of extra days for a cut on his hand to heal, thus pushing him off his rotation turn Wednesday. But he will be ready Friday, Showalter said. Sunday’s starter is still up in the air for the season finale. Around the horn: Asked about the success Boston Red Sox outfielder and MVP candidate Mookie Betts has had this year, Showalter said, “We don’t feel like he’s picking on us. He does it to a lot of teams.” Betts homered in Monday’s 6-2 Red Sox win, and entered Wednesday batting .365 with 13 extra-base hits in 15 games against the Orioles this year.