A few thoughts and observations after Chris Davis and the Orioles offense had a breakout game Tuesday night at Pittsburgh: * The headline was Davis and his second career three-homer game. Before last night's game, some here suggested Steve Pearce get the start over Davis against the lefty last night. After Davis looked bad with a strikeout in the first inning, you had to wonder if maybe they were right. But somewhere along the line, Davis got his timing back and turned back the clock to early...

PITTSBURGH - If you're manager Buck Showalter, do you stick with the same lineup tonight that churned out nine runs last night? The Orioles are facing another left-hander, Wandy Rodriguez, so it's a convenient excuse. Rodriguez has faced the Orioles once in his career, back in 2005 while he pitched for the Astros. He allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings in a 5-1 loss at Camden Yards. The Orioles' lineup included Eli Marrero in center field and Sal Fasano behind the plate....

If you ask Doug Fister, Denard Span was always a tough hitter to face. If you ask Span, Fister always got great movement on his pitches, which were incredibly deceptive to the hitter in the box. Unfortunately for the Reds, they had to face both of them Tuesday. The Nationals, led by Fister's seven strong innings and Span's 5-for-5 performance, cruised past Cincinnati 9-4. Fister went seven innings and allowed just six hits and two runs. He walked only one batter, and struck out five. Span...

Doug Fister didn't need much run support tonight. Denard Span helped make sure he had plenty anyway. Span went 5-for-5 tonight with two doubles, two runs scored, two RBIs and a stolen base, leading the offensive charge against Reds starter Johnny Cueto, who came in leading the majors in ERA among starters. Manager Matt Williams had been asked before the game whether he had given thought to moving Span out of the leadoff spot. Let's all have a laugh about that now. Fister took care of...

PITTSBURGH - Orioles first baseman Chris Davis became so frustrated with his failed at-bats Sunday in Kansas City that he made some adjustments in batting practice today and made a statement to his wife that seemed to give him a fresh perspective on the season. "I think it was good to have a day off and clear my head," he said. "I told Jill today I'm just going to start over. I'm going to start the season over today, and that's kind of what I did." He did some serious damage at the...

PITTSBURGH - Most of Orioles manager Buck Showalter's postgame comments to reporters tonight were related to first baseman Chris Davis, who hit three home runs and collected five RBIs in a 9-2 win over the Pirates. The questions kept pertaining to Davis. It was an obvious direction to steer the interview. "The thing I like is he's been playing good defense and you see him go down the line. He had a big night for us tonight. We all know he's capable of that, but not on that level. That's...

Chris Davis is back hitting homers for the Orioles. Entering tonight's game with three homers on the year in 30 games and 104 at-bats, Davis hit three in one game as the Orioles routed Pittsburgh 9-2 tonight at PNC Park. Davis hit a two-run shot during the O's four-run fifth, a solo homer in the seventh and a two-run blast in the ninth. He had four hits, five RBIs and homered in his last three at-bats. This is Davis' second career three-homer game and eighth career multi-homer game. He...

PITTSBURGH - Miguel Gonzalez's quality start tonight isn't going to get much attention. Chris Davis is hogging it. Davis turned in his second career three-homer game in the Orioles' 9-2 win over the Pirates before 22,787 at PNC Park. Davis had four hits, three home runs and five RBIs on the night. His two-run shot off Jeanmar Gomez in the top of the ninth completed the scoring and raised his average to .257 with six homers and 20 RBIs. The oblique is fine. The power is back. Davis'...

PITTSBURGH - The Orioles scored six runs in Sunday's loss to the Royals, perhaps a sign that their offense was ready to bust loose. They have six runs tonight in five innings. Adam Jones hit a three-run homer in the ninth in Kansas City, and his RBI double in the fifth tonight plated Manny Machado for a 3-1 lead over the Pirates. Machado made a tremendous slide to avoid catcher Chris Stewart's tag, reaching for the plate with his left hand. That's two aggressive sends from acting third...

PITTSBURGH - Adam Jones singled into left field with two outs in the top of the first inning tonight to extend his hitting streak to 14 games. Jones is six games away from tying his career-longest streak set in May 2012. During his current streak, Jones is batting .357 with five home runs, 11 RBIs and eight runs scored. Jones is 5-for-16 with three home runs lifetime against Pirates left-hander Francisco Liriano. Miguel Gonzalez threw 19 pitches in the first inning, including 16 for...