Gibbons in midst of July power surge

The Baltimore Sun

Seattle -- Orioles outfielder Jay Gibbons had a particularly striking round of batting practice before Tuesday's game at Safeco Field, depositing several balls into the second deck in right field and even hitting the facade of the upper deck with one shot.

But that's nothing new for Gibbons, whose prodigious pre-game clouts have long entertained his teammates.

"Batting practice is always a lot easier," Gibbons said. "Taking that into the game is the hard part."

For one night in an otherwise dreary and frustrating season for the longtime Oriole, Gibbons was able to do that, powering his team to a come-from-behind, 8-3 victory with a three-run home run in the sixth inning off Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez and a two-run single in the seventh inning.

Gibbons' five RBIs were a season high. His previous high for a game this season was three, a disappointing number for a player who was being counted on to drive in 80 runs or more. He now has six home runs and 26 RBIs to go along with a .217 average.

"Believe me, I know," said Gibbons when asked if he realized that he hadn't driven in more than three runs in a game this season. "I know that I haven't done anything. I'm a guy that expects to drive in runs, and I haven't driven in anybody this year. It definitely hurts."

Gibbons, 30, hit .197 with one home run and eight RBIs in 21 April games; .238 with two homers and four RBIs in 20 games in May; and .167 with no homers and five RBIs in 20 June games.

But Gibbons, who has started just six of 14 games this month as his struggles have relegated him to a $5 million-a-year part-time player, has had a solid July. In nine games in July entering last night's series finale against the Mariners, Gibbons was 9-for-28 (.321) with three home runs and nine RBIs.

He has homered in three of his past six starts after going without one from May 9 to July 4.

"We've been saying it all along. Those guys got track records on the back of their baseball cards that say what they've been doing for the last few years," interim manager Dave Trembley said. "We've been looking forward to it after the All-Star break. Hopefully, Jay can get it going a little bit."

Gibbons' homer Tuesday, which hit off the base of the Hit it Here Cafe in the second deck in right field and traveled an estimated 389 feet, came at a clutch time. The Orioles had squandered several scoring opportunities early against an erratic Hernandez, who took a 2-0 lead into the sixth inning.

The Orioles also were in danger of wasting another quality outing by impressive rookie Jeremy Guthrie, who went six innings, allowing two runs on six hits and three walks.

"I think everyone was waiting all game for someone to step up and get a big hit, and Jay did that for us today," said Guthrie, who improved to 5-3 while authoring a nice follow-up to his worst outing of the season. He gave up five earned runs and nine hits in 3 2/3 innings against the Chicago White Sox last Thursday.

"When I saw him after the three-run homer, I said, 'You'll get another one for us,'" Guthrie said. "And sure enough, he got [two] more RBIs in the next inning. It was big. I think a lot of people fed off that. It was nice for Jay to get us going like that."

After Gibbons' homer gave the Orioles a 3-2 lead, they broke the game open with five runs in the seventh inning to take an 8-2 advantage. That inning included a bloop two-run single by Gibbons, who then was removed for a pinch runner. Several Orioles awaited him at the top step of the dugout to offer congratulations.

"He's a Baltimore Oriole, and he's a big part of this team," Trembley said. "I know what he means to the other guys in this clubhouse. If we get him going, it's going to be a real plus for everybody."

Gibbons said that for one night, he felt good about his swing, which he has constantly tinkered with this season.

"I change every day, but today, I said, 'You know what, let's go back to the swing that I spent the whole offseason working with. You're hitting .200,'" Gibbons said. "I gave up on it in spring training pretty early, but tonight I was able to get some leverage with it, and that was it."

Now comes the hard part - continuing it. First, he'll have to get another start, and that didn't come last night against Seattle left-hander Jarrod Washburn.

"When the game starts, I'm trying to be positive for the team," Gibbons said. "If I'm on the bench, I'm going to support my teammates. I'm not going to sulk. I'm going to be into the game and cheer on my teammates. But it does affect you off the field a little bit more. You lose your appetite. It's disappointing. I'm disappointed in myself. That's it."

Gibbons also must ponder his future in the organization. He is in the second year of a four-year, $21.1 million contract he signed before the 2006 season.

"All I know is I have two more years left on my contract, and all I can do is go out there and do the best that I can," he said. "I have no idea what's going to go on. I wouldn't think they'd want to pay me this kind of money to be a part-time player, but we'll see what happens."jeff.zrebiec@baltsun.com

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