Orioles’ Chris Davis Blasts MLB-Leading 23rd HR in 6-3 Win
By Brad Rowland
Chris Davis has 23 home runs.
Before the start of the MLB season, the sentence above would’ve been perfectly reasonable… on September 16th. On June 16th, however? The concept would’ve been jarring, and frankly, pretty crazy, but that is the world in which we live as Davis blasted yet another home run in Sunday’s 6-3 win over the Red Sox.
With the win, the Orioles climbed within 1.5 games of the division-leading BoSox, but the headlines are held by the production of Davis. The left-hander now leads MLB in home runs with the 23 bombs, and, even after enduring a mini-slump, Davis now has a slash line of .332/.413/.684 for a 1.097 OPS and an incredible ISO of .352. Those are absolute video game numbers for Davis, and while they are sure to regress to the mean, he clearly has turned the corner as a power-hitter.
The Orioles continue to churn out victories in impressive fashion. For those “experts” who projected a massive dip in wins for the O’s (cough, me), it’s been a humbling experience, but their bullpen has kept them going in close games, and their patchwork rotation is holding things together. Throw in the Davis explosion, the Manny Machado emergence, and a throwback (to be modest) season from Nate McLouth, and the city of Baltimore could be in line for playoff games in October.
Chris Davis is making every, single Texas Rangers fan cringe with every home run. For Orioles fans, however, each Davis blast is an experience, and they are currently watching one of the best halves of a baseball season in recent memory.