Chris Davis on his costly throwing error, plus more clubhouse quotes

For Orioles first baseman Chris Davis, there was no need for spin or rationalization. His error tonight loomed large and led to a costly 5-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox.

Given a second chance at the ground ball to his right with the bases loaded in the sixth, Davis might have stayed near the bag and let second baseman Jonathan Schoop try to record the third out. But Davis ranged to his right, fielded Sandy Leon's grounder and then threw it wildly past pitcher Brad Brach covering first base. Two runs scored to give Boston a 2-1 lead that grew to 5-1 when Andrew Benintendi homered on the next pitch.

When a reporter suggested that the Orioles' lack of scoring many runs again tonight magnified the error, Davis wasn't buying that.

"When it's a one-run ballgame and you throw a ball away and they scored two, I think it's going to be magnified," he said. "You know, I thought we did enough offensively to put ourselves in a position to win the game. The error was huge and extremely costly.

''Obviously, just didn't make a very good throw on it. In that situation right there, I know how important it is, you know, to get the final out with the bases loaded right there. Probably a ball I could have stayed back on and just gone to the bag. But I just reacted and when I went to throw it, it kind of stuck in my hand and I pulled it and threw it and didn't even give Brad a shot to catch it."

The loss leaves the Orioles at 0-3 in this four-game series and six games out of the division lead.

"It is definitely not the position we want to be in," Davis said. "Felt we were playing good baseball coming off the road trip. Went to three tough places and won each series. That is what you want coming down the stretch. We just haven't been able to get the runs when we need them. Kind of putting ourselves behind the eight-ball right now. But we've still got a shot at this thing. It's by no means over."

The Orioles offense has scored just five runs in this series and nine runs over the last five games.

"I think we are getting in a position where we are trying to do too much," Davis said. "You start out the game and it takes you a few innings to score a run or scratch a few hits, the closer it gets to the ninth inning the more pressure you feel as an offense and the more you kind of push.

"That has really been what we've been doing the past few nights - just pressing too much. We talked about it earlier today. We need to go out there and have fun and do what we do best and just relax a little bit."

This loss must have felt like a dagger of sorts throughout the Orioles clubhouse. They've come back from tough defeats before. This one might provide their biggest challenge.

"A loss late in the year when you are trying to make the playoffs is tough, no matter if it's by one run or 10 runs," Davis said. "We have to put it behind us and move forward. As I said, we are by no means out of it. Still have a lot of baseball left to play and we're still in a position to make the postseason."

More clubhouse quotes:

Brach on the play at first base involving Davis: "Just a slow roller over there. Was just heading over the bag and I looked up and the ball was coming a little hard to me and a little out of my reach. That's all I've got."

Brad on the losing the 1-0 lead in the sixth: "It's frustrating, especially when they don't get a ball past first base 90 feet away and two runs score. Then, obviously, I have to make a better pitch on the next batter. Got to win those games, keep the lead there when you make good pitches like that."

Was Brach still thinking about that play on the home run pitch?: "No, but I wish I could have maybe thrown a ball there, something out of the zone. Just kind of reset there. Would have been nice to have one extra pitch. Obviously, not thinking. I wasn't really thinking clear there for that one pitch and he made me pay for it. This was not how we planned this series going, losing the first three. But everyone will say we just have to focus on tomorrow. Got to be a new season and start over tomorrow."

Ubaldo Jimenez on his outing tonight: "I think I survived, but didn't have my best stuff tonight. I was falling behind in the count with my breaking balls. But I was able to survive and give the team a chance to be close."

Jimenez on the sixth inning: "It was pretty difficult. Everybody knows what we are playing for and it was a tough game. But it's part of the game and you have to forget about this one and get ready for tomorrow. I think we have to turn the page right away."