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 Davis homered twice and drove in five runs -- all in the first two
innings -- as the Orioles extended their winning streak to four
games with a 7-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves in an interleague
match-up Tuesday night.
Davis belted a three-run homer in the first that gave the Orioles
(50-49) the lead for good and followed that with a two-run shot the
following inning, both off Braves starter Julio Teheran.
That was the 10th multi-homer game of Davis' career and the third
this season. The right fielder said he's feeling much better about
his swing and what he can do at the plate.
"I talked a little bit about it earlier about slowing down and being
a little bit more selective, a little bit more patient," Davis said.
"I think that's really been big for me the last few weeks, not
trying to go out there and do too much, just trying to put a good
swing on the ball."
The right fielder finished the night 2-for-4 with the five RBIs.
Davis also helped out on defense when he made a leaping catch on
catcher A.J. Pierzynski's long drive to right in the eighth.
Davis now has 24 homers and 65 RBIs and is hitting more like he did
during his All-Star season of two years ago. He started slowly this
season but has turned things around and is beginning to make his
mark for the Orioles as they chase a playoff spot.
"Chris obviously had a big night offensively, but it's very hard to
expect that type of production every night," Orioles manager Buck
Showalter said. "Very quietly he's grinding out another solid year
for us."
Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez (8-6) rebounded from a rocky start as
he gave up two runs on four hits in the first inning -- and also hit
one batter.
The right-hander faced eight batters and then walked shortstop
Andrelton Simmons to start the second. Jimenez then turned it around
and threw six hitless innings, giving up just three walks after the
first, making some changes in his mechanics that let the veteran
shut down the Braves and bounce back after two poor starts. He
retired 18 of the last 20 batters he faced.
"I think the first inning I was leading with my front shoulder a
little bit," Jimenez said. "It was way too open, and the next inning
I was able to get it better. They told me about it in the
dugout...and I was able to go and make an adjustment."
Teheran (6-6) allowed five runs in the first two innings, all coming
on the two Davis homers. The right-hander labored through a
92-pitch, four-inning night and fell to 1-5 on the road.
Davis was really the only Baltimore hitter who hurt Teheran, but he
did it enough to turn the game around.
"I threw him all my pitches, and he's a really good hitter," Teheran
said. "He got me twice."
Center fielder Adam Jones and catcher Caleb Joseph added RBI singles
as the Orioles scored a second straight win over the Braves (46-54).
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First baseman Freddie Freeman (two-run homer) and second baseman
Jace Peterson (RBI single) provided the Atlanta offense.
Both starting pitchers struggled in a 36-minute first inning, but
the Orioles came away with a 3-2 lead.
Freeman just returned from the disabled list Saturday and hit a
two-run homer off Jimenez to left-center that put the Braves up 2-0
three batters in. Freeman's hit was originally ruled a triple, but a
crew-chief review overturned that call.
"That's his slot right there, when he gets the (swing) going, that's
his power right there, left-center field," Braves manager Fredi
Gonzalez said. "It was nice to see him also make a couple of nice
plays defensively."
Jimenez needed 25 pitches to get through the inning, but the Braves'
lead didn't last long. Davis erased the deficit with a three-run
shot in the bottom of the first inning. Teheran had to throw 33
pitches to finish the frame.
After Jones lined a two-out single in the second inning, Davis hit
his second homer. This one also went to right-center for a 5-2
Baltimore lead.
The Orioles made it 6-2 on Joseph's two-out RBI single in the fifth
off left-hander Ross Detwiler.
NOTES: Baltimore C Matt Wieters' walk-off homer in the 11th inning
Monday was the fourth of his career. The Elias Sports Bureau
reported that Wieters became only the fourth Oriole to hit a
walk-off homer in three or more consecutive seasons. ... The Braves
put LHP Manny Banuelos, the scheduled starter for Wednesday, on the
disabled list retroactive to July 25. They recalled RHP David
Carpenter from Triple-A Gwinnett to take his spot. Before the game,
they did not announce who would start Wednesday. ... The Braves came
into Tuesday's game having struck out a major-league-low 686 times
this year. That is a big change from last year, when they had the
third-most strikeouts in baseball. The Braves struck out four times
Tuesday.
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