With game on line, Nava delivering in clutch situations

BALTIMORE -- Daniel Nava came into Saturday's game with the Orioles in the midst of a very productive season. The switch-hitter wasn't in the starting lineup, but he had nine homers and 44 RBIs in 62 games.

The 30-year-old leads American League outfielders in at-bats/RBI ratio (4.95), but Nava's also first in RBIs late in the game. Nava's knocked in 24 of his 44 runs from the seventh inning or later, tops in the Major Leagues.

Nava said he's just gotten a lot of chances late in games to be up at the right times, and he's taken advantage of it.

"We have a lineup that works at-bats, and later in the games, that stuff pays off and it's paid off to have guys on base," Nava said. "Fortunately, I've been the guy up to have an opportunity to get that knock."

Later in games, Nava works on keeping things rather simple. He doesn't go complex, especially when coming to the plate with runners on base.

And so far, that's been working well.

"I'm just trying to get a good pitch to hit," Nava said. "I know it's a plastic saying, but I think when the game gets on the line, I think every [player says] he tries to simplify things. Simply for me means look for a good pitch and not worry too much about the result, but really try and focus on the process."