Chris Davis on returning to the lineup and batting seventh

OAKLAND, Calif. - Orioles first baseman Chris Davis returns to the starting lineup tonight in Oakland, after sitting out Thursday's series opener. But with just two hits his last 25 at-bats and one homer the past 17 games, Davis has been dropped to seventh in tonight's batting order.

Davis has not hit seventh this year. He has hit fourth for 41 games, fifth for 42 games and second for one game.

"I understand he (manager Buck Showalter) is going to make adjustments to try and get guys going," Davis said this afternoon. "For whatever reason, he feels like sliding Mark (Trumbo, who is batting sixth) and I down will help us out. Maybe it will, maybe it won't. I remember a few years ago, when he put me in the two-hole and had Manny (Machado) leading off, it was a pretty dangerous combination. But I think he is just trying to find a way to get everybody clicking and get us firing on all cylinders."

Davis said it doesn't matter where he bats in the order.

"Usually no. I'd rather not be batting ninth. But (if) it's a more productive spot for me in the lineup then I'm all for it. I just want to win baseball games and be productive. Whether that means batting in the nine-hole, the one-hole, the fifthteenth-hole, whatever it is, it doesn't really matter," he said.

For the season, Davis is batting .212/.311/.427 with nine doubles, a triple, 18 homers and 41 RBIs. His OPS of .739 is down from last season's mark of .792 and well down from the 1.004 he put up in 2013 and the .923 of 2015.

Davis sat out yesterday's game and Showalter indicated he could sit tonight, but he's back in there. Did the day off benefit Davis?

"We'll find out, won't we. Yeah, I think it was good to take a step back, take a deep breath. Been burning the candle at both ends lately. Just trying to get the feel I've been looking for, for what seems like pretty much all season.

"I think it will pay off moving forward. The next couple of months are obviously huge for us. And we're not going to get a lot of breaks. So, anytime you can kind of take a step back and catch your breath, I think it is good."

I asked Davis if there were specific things he worked on in the cage Thursday?

"There are things I've been working on all year," he said. "I wish it was that easy to sit back and say, 'I can just do this drill or do that drill. Or make this adjustment or make that adjustment.' But for whatever reason it's just not easy. I'll keep working and keep grinding. And hopefully it will click here pretty soon and be a lot more fun to go up there and get four at-bats."

Davis went on the DL in mid June with a right oblique strain. He was activated out of the All-Star break. Since then, Davis is batting .176/.290/.341 in 100 plate appearances with four homers and 15 RBIs.

"Like I said, I wish it was that easy to pinpoint. I think you would see guys' struggles be a lot shorter and their successes a lot longer. But unfortunately it's not that way. But the only thing you can do is continue to work, continue to study and try to find something to get yourself going. That is where I'm at."

Over the years it seems Davis gets locked in when he starts hitting homers to left and left-center field. When that happens, is that a sign he's getting going again?

"I think it means that I'm usually heading in the right direction," he said. "I've had years where I've pulled a lot of balls and years where I've gone the other way. I think a lot of it is how the opponent is approaching me. Usually when I'm hitting balls out to left-center it means I'm staying on the ball. But I think it's something that people read a little more into than they probably should."