Chris Davis: "There is a sense of urgency in here to go now"

With the trade deadline approaching and talk whether the Orioles should be buyers or sellers being discussed, the O's won their fourth game in a row.

After he hit two homers and drove in five as the Orioles beat Atlanta 7-3, Chris Davis said he sees his team as a contender and wants to see this group stay together past Friday's deadline.

"We've felt that way all year," Davis said. "There have been times we've played really well and times we've struggled. But there is a sense of urgency in here to go now. We know where we are in the standings and we know the best way to move up is to win ballgames, and I think that's everyone's focus now.

"I thought there were times earlier this year when we looked like we were ready. We were playing good defense, pitching well and swinging the bats well. You have to enjoy the good times and grind out the bad times."

For now, if trade deadline is distracting the Orioles, they are not showing it.

"My job is to go out and play as hard as I can for the Orioles. We like the guys we have in here, but we have our work cut out for us. For us, to pay attention to stuff outside the lines, it's not going to be beneficial," Davis said after his 10th career multi-homer game and third of this season.

With seven runs tonight, following 10 runs scored Saturday and Sunday at Tampa Bay, is the offense finally showing signs of life?

"Absolutely," Davis said. "I know there has been a lot of talk of the offense and the ups and downs. But you have to look at who is on the other side of that. We faced some pretty good pitching on the road. The more at-bats we get, the better guys feel and hopefully the more success we have."

Meanwhile, Ubaldo Jimenez took the mound tonight, coming off two starts in which he gave up 14 runs in a combined seven innings at Detroit and New York.

"I had to move past those," Jimenez said. "With those kind of outings, you try to find something to get out of it to make it better for the next one. But there, I tried to just forget about everything that happened. If you think about it, once you get on the mound, you are going to be in trouble right away. It is always nice to find a way to get back on track, especially after some tough games. Glad to give the team a chance to win."

At the outset, it didn't look like that would happen. Jimenez gave up a two-run homer to Freddie Freeman in a 25-pitch first inning. What followed were six consecutive hitless innings on 81 pitches. He recorded his ninth quality start, and is now 8-6 with a 3.73 ERA.

"In the first inning, I was a little shaky with my mechanics. But the guys picked me up right away," Jimenez said. "They scored three runs, and that allowed me to go to the mound and get comfortable with mechanics. In the first inning, my front shoulder was way too open. The next inning, I got it better after they told me about it."

So, the Orioles are trying to show they can still can contend for postseason. They feel it's not too late.

"I think all of the guys in the clubhouse feel we have a really good team. There is not time to give up. We still have two months to go," Jimenez said. "I know the season wasn't going the way we wanted to - we lost that series in New York, but you have to keep moving forward, and we still have time."