Dan Connolly

Myriad O’s Thoughts: Jimenez starts Thursday; Davis slumping; Kim back

Orioles manager Buck Showalter announced after Tuesday’s game that Ubaldo Jimenez indeed will start Thursday at Target Field in the Orioles’ one-game road trip to Minnesota.

Jimenez, who is 5-9 with a 7.38 ERA in 18 games (17 starts), has not pitched since July 8, when he gave up five runs in a start that lasted 1 1/3 innings. He’s been in the bullpen since, but wasn’t used. On Saturday, he went on a three-day paternity leave to be with his wife for the birth of their first child.

The reason Jimenez is getting the start Thursday is twofold: Orioles manager Buck Showalter wants to give his other starters more rest. And Jimenez has been great in his career against the Twins (5-3 with a 2.55 ERA in 10 games) and particularly impressive at Target Field (4-1, 1.82 ERA in six games).

If you’re picking your spots for Jimenez, this is a good one.

Davis in ugly skid

We all know Chris Davis is streaky. Very high peaks and very low valleys.

He’s in Death Valley right now. Davis is hitless in his last 24 at-bats. He was 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts Tuesday in the Orioles’ 6-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies. With runners on the corners and one out in the eighth, he struck out in what was one of the key at-bats of the game. He now has 135 strikeouts in 346 at-bats.

Showalter was asked if he would consider moving Davis in the order – he batted cleanup for the 68th time Tuesday and has only hit in the third, fourth and fifth spots this year – the way he did with Adam Jones when he was struggling earlier this year. The manager didn’t really answer the question; instead he simply backed his veteran.

“You see the walks that Chris (56) is still drawing. There’s still a whole lot of respect for the contact-to-damage ratio,” Showalter said. “He’ll get it going. It’s just been a period of time where he’s not able to contribute the way he’s capable of.”

Kim is back

Hyun Soo Kim came (right hamstring strain) off the disabled list Tuesday, was in the starting lineup and hit the second pitch he saw for a bloop single.

He admitted after the game he might have been a little anxious.

“In that first at-bat, I felt like I was a little over-aggressive because I just came back and maybe I got a little excited,” Kim said through interpreter Danny Lee. “I was definitely being too aggressive. But I felt good that I’m heading in the right direction. I’m trying to find the right mechanics to be in the ballgame again.”

He was 1-for-3 with a walk and, most important, said he had no discomfort at all.

Getting Kim back healthy and productive will be a big lift for the Orioles’ offense. – especially while Davis is struggling.

 

 

 

Dan Connolly

Dan Connolly has spent more than two decades as a print journalist in Pennsylvania and Maryland. The Baltimore native and Calvert Hall graduate first covered the Orioles as a beat writer for the York (Pennsylvania) Daily Record in 2001 before becoming The Baltimore Sun’s national baseball writer/Orioles reporter in 2005. He has won multiple state and national writing awards, including several from the Associated Press Sports Editors. In 2013 he was named Maryland Co-Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. And in 2015, he authored his first book, "100 Things Orioles Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die." He lives in York, with his wife, Karen, and three children, Alex, Annie, and Grace.

View Comments

  • Yes Davis should not be immune to getting pushed down the lineup..backing a vet is fine but if the vet can't seem to figure it out then move Someone, Adam now that Kin is back perhaps? to his slot for the time being..hell JJ has had more pop in his bat lately then CD

  • Maybe Davis should be the starter tomorrow. It would shake things up a bit for sure. Ubaldo can't be any worse at the plate than CD is right now, and Davis can't be any worse on the mound than Jimenez has been. Gives those BIG contracts some way to contribute while they are struggling to get on track.
    I officially dare you to ask Buck if he will consider it. lol

Share
Published by
Dan Connolly

Recent Posts

  • Rich Dubroff

The Great BaltimoreBaseball.com Orioles Quiz

Here's the annual Baltimore Baseball.com holiday Orioles quiz. Answers will appear tomorrow. 2024 Orioles 1)…

December 25, 2024
  • Midday Mailbag

Should Keegan Akin start for Orioles in 2025? | MAILBAG

Question: Is it possible Keagan Akin can return to being a starter in 2025? I'd like to…

December 24, 2024
  • Rich Dubroff

A Christmas Eve check on Orioles’ starting pitching possibilities

With Christmas just a day away and more free-agent starting pitchers signed to contracts, it’s…

December 24, 2024
  • Midday Mailbag

Should Orioles use 6-man rotation? | MAILBAG

Question: Do you think the O's are considering a six-man rotation? There doesn't seem to…

December 23, 2024
  • Minors

With Basallo’s big league debut nearing, Orioles’ international program showing strength

The Orioles haven’t signed a player from the Dominican Republic who played for them since…

December 23, 2024
  • Peter Schmuck

Peter Schmuck: A Corbin Burnes cautionary tale

Way back at the turn of this century, a venture capital guy named Tom Hicks,…

December 22, 2024