Chris Davis: "I think I am missing pitches that I was hitting earlier"

American League pitchers take note. Chris Davis' bat may have cooled off for now. How long that lasts, we'll see. Davis is in an 0-for-16 drought and is hitless over his last four games, his longest hitless stretch since June 15-24, 2012, when he went eight straight games without a base hit for an 0-for-28 stretch. "I think I am missing pitches that I was hitting earlier," Davis said this afternoon in the Orioles clubhouse. "There was a time I was seeing a lot of off-speed and pitches that caused me to stay back and seeing a lot of balls, too. I had to be real selective and take advantage of just maybe one or two pitches. "I think it kind of got me out of rhythm a little bit. As a power hitter when you are hot, don't throw a pitch in the strike zone. But when you are not hot, it's a little bit tougher." Davis has struck out nine times in 20 at-bats over his last five games and he has not homered or knocked in a run over his past seven games. That is his longest stretch of the year without a homer or RBI. "I feel good in the box right now. It's just that my timing is a little bit off," he said. "I'm getting ready to go out right now and hit early. I think last night was actually a good sign for me. Even though I cued it off the end, I went the other way and stayed back on a few pitches and really had some good balance on some swings." Davis remains the AL leader in homers (20), slugging (.684) and extra-base hits (40). He is third in the AL in batting (.333) and fourth in OBP (.411). During this series with the Los Angeles Angels, he can look across the field and see plenty of big names in that Angels dugout and lineup - big names that haven't produced any better than a 27-37 record to this point. "You obviously have to respect the talent they have over there, the fact that they have some really talented players over there and some guys that have proven themselves to be superstars," Davis said. "But at the same time, you still have to play the game and they can go 0-for-4 just like we can." Speaking of sluggers, here is an interesting stat: Adam Jones ranks third in the major leagues in extra-base hits since the start of the 2012 season. Miguel Cabrera is first with 118, followed by Robinson Cano at 108 and Jones with 106. Next comes the Angels' Albert Pujols (103) and Mike Trout (102). Jones is tied for fifth in the AL this season in extra-base hits with 32.



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