Showalter on Davis' slump (O's win wild one 7-5 over White Sox)

CHICAGO - As this game began tonight, Orioles first baseman Chris Davis is mired in a long slump. He has just six hits in his last 53 at-bats. Over his past 24 games, Davis is batting .138 with one homer and four RBIs.

When asked today if he has seen signs recently of Davis breaking out of this slump, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he had not. But there are reasons he continues to start Davis every day.

"Not really. I like the fact that he is continuing to walk," Showalter said. "I think there are only four or five in the American League that have walked more than him. He's impacting our team every night defensively.

"I think Chris is just now getting over some sickness and stuff. He's been less than ... like a lot of our guys. Has had some bronchitis and sickness that really hung with him for a long time. As he gets that behind him, he'll feel better. But it's usually the next pitcher (that determines whether a hitter can get his bat going)."

On another topic, Showalter took some time today to talk to some young baseball players on the phone.

They were the players from the Baltimore RBI team that won their Junior Division (ages 13-15) Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship to clinch a berth to the 2016 Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) World Series in Cincinnati. This is the first RBI World Series appearance for the Baltimore RBI program in the tournament's 24-year history. The World Series began today.

"Real proud of them," Showalter said. "They were a very attentive group and just wanted them to know we are proud of them. I know Yovani (Gallardo) was back in that same program back in Fort Worth (Texas in 2003). This is very important to a lot of people. It was cool getting a chance to talk to them today. I appreciate them taking the call. A lot of people that age don't talk to old people like me."

Alvarez homers again: Pedro Alvarez launched yet another home run tonight as the Orioles took a 1-0 lead on the White Sox and Miguel Gonzalez in the second inning. Alvarez launched an 0-1 curveball out to center field for his 17th homer.

Over his past three games, counting tonight, he is now 6-for-8 with four homers and four RBIs. Alvarez has homered five times in his last five games. He has homered 14 times in 130 at-bats since June 1.

O's starter Gallardo stranded Tyler Saladino at third base with one out in a scoreless first. Saladino singled, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher Matt Wieters. Gallardo gave up a leadoff single but got a double-play ball to end the home second. He threw 29 pitches in the first two innings.

The Orioles' lead grew to 4-0 with a three-run third. J.J. Hardy and Adam Jones singled to start the inning. After a fielder's choice groundout, Manny Machado ripped a two-run double to right center for a 3-0 lead. Machado had been batting .209 since July 1. Machado scored from second when Mark Trumbo reached on an infield single to deep short and shortstop Tyler Saladino threw the ball past first base. The O's have an early 4-0 lead for Gallardo.

Lead cut in half: Chicago scored twice in the fourth to trail 4-2 on Jose Abreu's solo homer and Avisail Garcia's RBI double off Gallardo. Gallardo then stranded two more White Sox on the bases in the last of the fifth to hold the 4-2 lead. His pitch count is at 84 and the White Sox are 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

Orioles win over Chicago: They got early offense, they got 16 hits and they got a quality start. And Alvarez hit two more home runs. They hung on late as the lead was starting to dissipate.

But in the end, the Orioles got a needed win 7-5 over the Chicago White Sox in the opener of this challenging 10-game road trip.

Leading 7-2 in the last of the eighth, Darren O'Day allowed two hits and two walks, retiring just one batter before Logan Ondrusek replaced him. The O's gave up three runs in the inning but got out of it with the help of some poor ChiSox baserunning. Adam Eaton's grounder to first base with runners on second and third went for a double play. Davis ran to first for the out and threw to third as the White Sox had two runners at the bag. They got one out to end the inning and a replay that fans here didn't agree with wound up confirming the out call on the field. It was a crazy last of the eighth.

Meanwhile, here is Alvarez's home run count over his past five games: 1, 0, 2, 1, 2. That is five homers in three games, six in five and 18 for the season. He has homered 15 times in 133 at-bats since June 1. His second homer tonight, a shot to right off Tommy Kahnle in the eighth, traveled 452 feet according to Statcast.

The Orioles pinned a loss tonight on Gonzalez, the former Oriole, who gave up four runs and 10 hits (three earned runs) in six innings. Gallardo got the win, allowing two runs and seven hits over six frames to improve to 4-3 with an ERA of 5.47.

The Orioles put this game away with a three-run eighth to make it 7-2. Among the 16 hits tonight, Jones, Machado and Hardy had three-hit games. As it turns out, they needed just about all those runs. After the rough last of the eighth, Zach Britton got the save in the ninth and is 34-for-34 in save chances.

The Orioles improved to 62-46 overall with their fourth win five games. They are 23-29 on the road and 20-7 versus teams from the AL Central. Check back for a wrap-up report with postgame quotes still to come here tonight.