Reimold trying to maintain his roll in a new leadoff role (O's win 2-0)

Before Nolan Reimold knocks in another run for the Orioles, he taps his fist against his wood locker inside the home clubhouse.

Reimold freely admit that he believes in jinxes and would rather void talking about the adjustments that he's made at the plate with hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh. He skimps on the details, a smile creasing his face.

It's going good for Reimold. Don't mess with it by talking about it.

Reimold is making his eighth start this month, again situated atop the order but serving as the designated hitter. He's 9-for-25 with three home runs, seven RBIs, six walks and nine runs scored.

For a team that routinely ranks near the bottom of the majors in on-base percentage, Reimold is exactly what's needed as a leadoff hitter.

Reimold was batting .227/.306/.340 with two home runs and eight RBIs in 39 games before the Orioles designated him He was battling a 5-for-32 slump.

So what clicked? How is this happening?

Let's start with the day that Reimold reported to Triple-A Norfolk after being designated for assignment on Aug. 24, clearing waivers and accepting his outright.

"There really isn't anything to it, I guess," Reimold said. "When I went back down to Norfolk, right when I got down there and started having at-bats, I was really calm. There's not live and die with every AB. I just took a step back and felt a lot more relaxed at the plate. Then when I got up to Toronto, it was one of those things where you step in the box and you're like, 'Oh, this feels a lot better.' And that was really that."

Well, not entirely.

Weren't there some mechanical adjustments, his stance altered by turning his left foot slightly inward.

"There was," he said. "It's just a little bit different setup that I got, which just allowed me to get to the ball a lot more freely. I'm also a firm believer in jinxes and I feel like just talking about this right now is really going to screw me over."

Reimold laughs and knocks on wood before continuing. Who's under more pressure now, the player or the interviewer?

"I can give you a bunch of stuff that I do wrong," he said. "With me, I always lose my weight on my back side. That's a big thing. And then I roll the ball over to third, where I feel like I should have hit it a lot better. That will happen to me. I'll stride too far and just lose my weight instead of transferring it to get the bat behind the ball.

"It's just a feeling. Hitting is a feel and sometimes you just have the right feel. And when you get it, you don't want to lose it. That's pretty much all there was to it, I guess."

Reimold has grown comfortable in the leadoff spot, with Manny Machado moving down to second.

"I enjoy it until that last at-bat rolls around and I strike out. Then it's not as much fun. If I do something good, then it's great," Reimold said, flashing another smile.

"You start off the game and it's like, before you know it you're up there again. You really don't have too much time to think about it. You might be up and get two at-bats in the first two innings. There's a good chance of that. I do like it, but you lead off once in the game. But I'll hit anywhere, obviously. Wherever I'm put. But I like leading off. It's good with me, whatever I can do to help out."

Update: Reimold avoided the jinx in the first inning, reaching on a leadoff single, advancing on Manny Machado's walk, taking third base on Chris Davis' fly ball and scoring on second baseman Josh Rutledge's fielding error.

Kevin Gausman walked two batters in the top of the first and threw 28 pitches, but the Red Sox didn't score.

Update II: Chris Davis singled with two outs in the seventh and scored on Adam Jones' double to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead. Big insurance run as darren O'Day works the eighth.

Brad Brach retired the side in order in the seventh.

Gausman allowed two hits in six scoreless innings, with four walks and seven strikeouts. He threw 109 pitches, 67 for strikes.

Reimold has struck out three times since his first-inning single.

Update II: The Orioles defeat the Red Sox 2-0 for their fifth win in the last six games. They're three games under .500 for the first time since Aug. 29.

Zach Britton recorded his 33d save. Gausman picked up his first win since Aug. 1.

The Orioles posted their 10th shutout. They're 12-17 in two-run games.

The Orioles are 10-4 versus the Red Sox this season.