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Davis homers in fifth straight game
Brewers prospect is one short of Southern League record
07/28/2012 1:26 AM ET
Khris Davis is 10-for-15 with five homers and six RBIs in his last five games.
Khris Davis is 10-for-15 with five homers and six RBIs in his last five games. (Jill Cacic/Huntsville Stars)
Khris Davis won't tell you he's making up for lost time, but his play suggests otherwise.

The Brewers' No. 15 prospect homered in his fifth straight game on Friday night but could not keep Double-A Huntsville from falling at Pensacola, 7-5.

Davis, who's also riding an 11-game hitting streak, doubled and walked twice to go with his solo blast in the fourth inning. He's one game away from tying the Southern League record for most consecutive games with a home run set by Derrek Lee, who homered in six straight for the Memphis Chicks from June 2-8, 1996.

Davis missed time from May 6-June 3 with a pulled calf muscle, only to aggravate the injury in his second game back. He returned for a six-game rehab stint in the Rookie-level Arizona League, but by the time he rejoined the Stars on July 9, he'd missed 56 games.

The 24-year-old outfielder said the calf "feels great."

"I try not to think about my numbers," he added. "I'm just working on getting better and, on a personal level, I'm looking at improving my skills. If I feel like I'm doing that, then I'm happy. Otherwise, I don't have to put up numbers for that to happen necessarily."

Still, Davis' statistics are stellar for someone who missed a good chunk of the season. Through 42 games with Huntsville, he's hitting .355 with a 1.082 OPS. He'd lead the league in both categories if he had the plate appearances to qualify.

Even in that admittedly small sample, the Arizona native's power is more of a recent phenomenon. Before starting the streak in the second game of a doubleheader on July 21, Davis had homered three times in his previous 37 contests. That's not lost on the Cal State-Fullerton product.

"I would describe myself as a good hitter with power, but I wouldn't necessarily say I'm a power hitter," he explained. "I'll put together a run like this every now and again. It just happens, but it's not something I do often."

As for the streak, Davis has a favorite homer. In Tuesday's series opener against Pensacola, he launched a two-run shot to right field off Reds' No. 10 prospect Tony Cingrani.

Davis could take pride in the fact the blast came off one of the Minor Leagues' ERA leaders. Instead, he was happier about the direction the ball traveled.

"I love to hit home runs the opposite way," he said. "It's always a good indicator that my swing is working well and that I'm doing the right things when I'm at the plate."

With a share of the Southern League record on the line Saturday, Davis admitted it'll be on his mind. But he won't be too worried about the outcome.

"Yeah, I think about it," he said. "But every time I step up for an at-bat, I just try to do the little things: Get a good pitch, put a decent swing on it. If it happens to go over the wall, that's great."

Davis also could be joined by three new teammates on Saturday. Infielder Jean Segura and pitchers Johnny Hellweg and Ariel Pena will join the Stars after the Brewers acquired them as part of the trade that sent Zack Greinke to the Angels..

Davis knows Segura from 2010, when the two were teammates at the Midwest All-Star Game.

"He's an amazing player," Davis said. "He's always been a tough out at the plate and he can definitely pick it on the ground, too. ... He'll bring leadership [to the infield]. Anytime the ball is hit his way, he'll make it look routine, no matter how hard it's hit. Adding someone like that is always exciting."

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