Orioles slugger Chris Davis walks back to the dugout after striking out in late August. (Getty Images)
On Friday morning, his regular season came to a stunning end.
The suspension covers Baltimore’s remaining 17 games of the season and the team’s first eight games of the playoffs, should the Orioles last that long. They’re a lock to win the AL East (they lead the second-place Blue Jays by 10 games), which means they’ll open the postseason in a division series.
It also means the Orioles will enter October without three of the players who were expected to lead the team in the preseason. Catcher Matt Wieters and third baseman Manny Machado combined to play just 108 games this year, and both are out until 2015 with injuries.
Davis issued a statement shortly after the suspension was announced.
If the Orioles play fewer than eight games in October, Davis will have to sit out the remaining games of the 25-game suspension at the beginning of the 2015 season.
