Davis has "welcome to the majors" moment

By Roch Kubatko

Orioles

June 22, 2011, 10:14am

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This isn't how Blake Davis wants to remember his major league debut. Davis let a sharp two-out ground ball from Josh Harrison scoot through his legs in the fifth inning, allowing two runs to score and giving the Pirates a 5-4 lead. Zach Britton should have been out of the inning. Instead, he's trailing again and his pitch count continues to increase. It's up to 70 through the fifth. Britton isn't blameless here, of course, He surrendered back-to-back singles to open the fifth. He's permitted three earned runs and seven hits, and has thrown a wild pitch. He's not facing a division rival. It's the Pirates. Respect them - and put them away. At least he's raking again. He has two more hits today. As for Davis, he was primarily a shortstop in the minors before the Orioles turned him into a utility player. Most of his starts at Triple-A Norfolk this season came in right field. It's easy to assume that Robert Andino would have fielded that ball cleanly. It's also easy to assume that Davis would make that play on most days. He didn't do it this afternoon.