Matt Wieters on his hitting slump, serving as DH and the strong run of pitching

Orioles catcher Matt Wieters has just one hit in 23 at-bats over his last six games. That has dropped his average from .258 to .243, its lowest point since early June. A reporter asked Wieters if he thought his bat has been streakier this year. "I don't know," Wieters said. "I'm sure the numbers come and go. But it's something you can't worry about. When you are feeling good, try to keep that streak going. It's been a year of trying to find that good stroke and be able to keep it going, but we're going to keep working and hopefully it will come soon." Wieters moves into the cleanup spot tonight against lefty David Price. This season, Wieters is batting .354 with an OPS of .942 against left-handers and is batting just .205 and .662 against right-handed pitching. He will also serve as the DH tonight for just the eighth time on the year. "I've got a pretty good guy I can get advice from that has been doing it for a long time (in Jim Thome)," Wieters said. "I try to pick his brain as much as possible and he probably takes 400 or 500 swings through the course of a game to stay loose. Maybe I'll take advice from Jim." As you might expect, Wieters would not bite when a reporter wondered if any batting slumps were possibly the result of carrying a heavy load at such a demanding position as catcher. "It definitely helps to rest your legs but everybody's body goes through wear and tear in a year whether you are an outfielder or a catcher," he said. "I always think catching can help you because you don't always have to focus on hitting as much and you can rely on calling a game and help your team that way." In 11 games this season batting in the four hole, Wieters is hitting .341 with an OPS of .937. Meanwhile, he has seen O's starters put together this strong run of seven consecutive quality starts, pitching to an ERA of 2.47 during that time. "They've been attacking with their fastballs," Wieters said. "They have been able to locate and get ahead of hitters during this stretch. Hope we keep it going for a long time."