With oblique injury in rear-view mirror, Chris Davis' bat starts to heat up

Chris Davis said today that his oblique injury has not bothered him since he returned from the disabled list on May 11. Davis was just 5-for-28 (.179) in his first eight games since returning to the lineup with one homer until his three-homer game Tuesday. But he said physically he was feeling fine the whole time. "My left elbow hurts today thanks to my last at-bat (when he was hit last night)," Davis said this afternoon. "Pretty happy about that. But no, my oblique has not bothered me. "The first couple of games I came back, I don't want to say it was stiff but it was almost like it was rusty. I hadn't done anything for a couple of weeks. But it hasn't bothered me. "There were a couple times this last series when I took some hard check swings - I don't know if you all saw the missile I hit yesterday with the bases loaded - but stopping (my swing before) that was something that killed me. And I didn't feel it so it's good to know that is behind me." Davis hit three homers in a game in August of 2012 to join a list of former Orioles such as Boog Powell, Eddie Murray, Paul Blair, Bobby Grich, Cal Ripken Jr., Don Baylor and current Oriole Nick Markakis with three-homer games. In the two-game series in Pittsburgh he went 6-for-8 with a double, three homers, five runs and six RBIs. Yes, his swing is coming around. "It's getting there," Davis said. "There had been at-bats where I was seeing the ball well and I felt like I was close. When I came out early and swung Tuesday I felt better. But then in my first at-bat I swung at a ball in the dirt and said, 'Here we go again.' But then it just kind of click for me. This is a weird game. "The biggest thing for me was having a couple of good at-bats against a guy like (Francisco) Liriano. He hides the ball real well and it's left on left. To stay through a pitch up in the zone - a breaking ball away from me - was a real good sign. I hit pitches Tuesday that early on I was fouling off or rolling over. It was nice to finally make solid contact and drive the ball." In 10 games this month, Davis is batting .306 with four homers, eight RBIs and a 1.126 OPS. In 32 games for the season he is hitting .286 with six homers, 21 RBIs, a .482 slugging percentage and .873 OPS.