BALTIMORE _ As Chris Davis neared the end of his first home run trot of September, he slowed, giving himself time to look around the Orioles' final home crowd of 2019. His mind drifted back to 2015, when he homered twice in Baltimore's last game at Camden Yards and what he figured could be his last as an Oriole as he approached the uncertainty of free agency.
Of course, Davis came back, signing a seven-year, $161 million contract that offseason that became an albatross as his production cratered from the performances that earned him that deal. But Sunday, in the Orioles' home finale of the contract's fourth season, Davis provided a glimmer of what he once was and what he hopes to become once again, hitting a game-winning home run in the seventh inning that propelled Baltimore to a 2-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
"I remembered (in 2015) right before I crossed home plate looking into the stands thinking, 'Is this the last time I'm going to be doing this?' " Davis said. "Today was kind of a similar thing, but I know it's not the last time I'm going to do it. It's something that was long overdue.
"I wanted to soak it in. There have been a lot of really tough nights for me here, walking back to the dugout at-bat after at-bat, just feeling like I'd let my teammates down, let the coaching staff down, let our fans down. ... It was cool to actually give them something to cheer for."
Davis, 33, finds himself struggling mightily for the second straight season. Sunday's home run was his 11th, five fewer than he hit last season while setting a major league record for lowest batting average by a qualified player at .168. The homer raised his average this year to .176. He opened the season by setting record streaks for consecutive hitless at-bats and plate appearances and has ended it in a bench role, with Sunday marking only his sixth start in 21 September games.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde planned to get both Davis and designated hitter Mark Trumbo into Sunday's lineup, with Trumbo a pending free agent and Davis' roster spot in question given his performance. Trey Mancini's bruised left leg, the result of recent hit-by-pitches, made that lineup manipulation easier.
So there Davis was, batting seventh and playing first. He struck out looking in his first at-bat and walked in his second trip to the plate against Mariners left-hander Marco Gonzalez, who allowed an RBI double to Renato Nunez in the first and no other damage in his first 6 2/3 innings.
Then Davis pounded a 2-1 sinker out to right-center, providing a lead that made a winner of All-Star John Means, who completed his strong season at Camden Yards with seven innings of one-run ball.
"I didn't quite see the swing," Means said, "but I saw where it went."
