Notes on Dylan Bundy, Ubaldo Jimenez and Chris Davis

Here are a few notes and observations as the Orioles head out on a two-city, four-game road trip starting tonight at Minnesota and moving on to Toronto this weekend.

Dylan Bundy was impressive: Bundy was dealing. Bundy looked strong last night, retiring the first 16 Colorado Rockies he faced and taking a perfect game into the sixth inning. The fact he gave up two homers in the sixth should not take away from an opinion that Bundy clearly belongs in the O's rotation. This is no longer a question of talent, it's a question of how many innings the Orioles will let him throw this year.

Bundy is showing now the reason he was the club's top prospect for so long and why even after he had Tommy John surgery in 2013, he remained on Baseball America's top 100 list (at No. 48) in 2014.

His changeup has become a sometimes swing and miss secondary pitch and one he can throw to left and right-handed batters. The fact he elevated two that were hit for homers last night should not deter him from going right back to that pitch often in his next start.

Dare we say it, but at times these last two starts, Bundy has looked like the top-of-the-rotation starter that the Orioles and their fans hoped he would one day be. Exciting is the word that comes to mind when thinking about this kid's future.

Ubaldo's last stand?: While Bundy's future is bright, the O's future for pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez is uncertain. Will tonight be his last start ever for the team? Will he be traded or released?

Few players are as well-liked or respected in the Orioles clubhouse. But this is a bottom-line business and the bottom line on Jimenez is that he has hurt the team this year. His ERA is 7.38 and he simply has been terrible most of this season.

The guy is a class act and badly wants to do well for the Orioles, but it is just not happening for him and there seems to be little hope that it will moving forward. Maybe he will surprise us and throw a great game tonight, but the odds seem very much against it. Jimenez is taking up a roster spot that could be put to better use. In a three-team race to win the American League East, every game is critical and the O's may have reached the point where they simply can't use a pitcher with an ERA of over 7.00.

Davis is slumping: No doubt almost all fans have noticed Chris Davis' latest struggles. Davis snapped an 0-for-24 stretch with a bunt single in the second inning last night. But he later walked once and struck out twice. He came up as the tying run in a 3-1 game in the eighth, but struck out versus Boone Logan.

When Davis gets in these funks he can look real bad and it can look like he'll never get another hit. And then with little warning, he starts bashing homers. Starting June 7, Davis went 7-for-17 with five homers and 10 RBIs in a five-game stretch. In the 19 games before that, he was 9-for-69 with two home runs.

Davis is now one day away from heading to Rogers Centre in Toronto. Will heading north of the border be his slump buster?

In four games last month there (part of that five-game stretch) he went 6-for-13 with a double, four homers and nine RBIs. In 44 career games and 156 at-bats in that ballpark, Davis is batting .340/.436/.763 with 17 homers and 40 RBIs.

That production over a full season of 600 at-bats would see a player produce 65 homers and 154 RBIs. Davis loves hitting at Rogers Centre and he probably can't wait to get back there.