Reynolds’ record in danger

ARLINGTON, Texas — Chris Davis takes a pitch over the middle of the plate, then glances back at the umpire for the inevitable call of “Strike three!”

Whether he’s taking a third strike or going down swinging, strikeouts have become all too common for Davis, the young Texas Rangers first baseman who is on pace to shatter the major-league record of 204, set last season by former Virginia standout Mark Reynolds of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“He’s going to strike out, we know that. But the rate at which he’s striking out now is obviously too high,” Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said. “Coming up through the system, we felt like Chris was a good hitter and wasn’t just an all-or-nothing slugger.”

Davis had 110 strikeouts in 73 games through Tuesday, an average of 1 1/2 per game and on pace for more than 240 this season. His 100th strikeout came in his 219th at-bat — faster than any player ever by 16 at-bats.

Adding to the whiffing frustration is that Davis was hitting only .202, fourth-lowest in the majors among qualifying players. His paltry .259 on-base percentage was better only than Jimmy Rollins (.250), the 2007 NL MVP, though Davis did have 15 home runs.

“When it’s going bad for me, I strike out a lot,” Davis said. “I strike out regardless, even when I’m going good. It’s just something that I’ve always done. ... I’m still learning about myself and my swing, still learning about the game.”

Davis matched a team record when he struck out in 21 consecutive games from April 21 through May 13. The day after that streak, he hit a game-winning two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning against Seattle.

There were multiple strikeouts in five consecutive games in late May, but he also hit two homers against the New York Yankees in one of those games.

Davis, in fact, has struck out in 63 of the 71 games in which he has an at-bat and his strikeout average of .445 is more than twice as high as his batting average. But manager Ron Washington keeps putting Davis in the lineup almost every day.

“Ultimately, his defense at first and what we think he can be for us in the future, we’ve decided to ride it out,” Daniels said. “Some nights have been tougher to watch than others.”

Davis hasn’t carried his offensive struggles into the field, where the 23-year-old Texas native has excelled at a position he was switched to in the minors just last year. He has only two errors in 671 total chances (.997 fielding percentage) and tops AL first basemen with 638 putouts and 65 double plays.

“If I go up there and strike out, my mindset is I’m going to take a hit away from somebody when I get out there on defense,” he said. “And to be honest with you, I think that has a lot to with me staying up here and staying in the lineup.”

No question about that.

“It’s hard to get a guy off the field when he plays great defense just because he’s struggling offensively,” Washington said. “Especially when you have confidence that with one swing of the bat, he can make a big difference.”

Davis made his major league debut midway through last season and hit .285 with 17 homers and 88 strikeouts in 80 games. He struck out 288 times with 74 homers in 277 minor league games.

In Arizona, Reynolds again leads the National League with 103 strikeouts through Tuesday, but his 1.3-per-game average is about the same as last year when he became the first player with more than 200 Ks in a season. He was hitting .274 with 21 homers.

That could keep the way clear for Davis to set a dubious record, though he tries not to think about that possibility.

“They said, ‘We’re going go stick with you and let you figure it out up here,’” Davis said. “That meant a lot to me, kind of gave me some confidence. ... So go ahead and keep grinding.”