Clubhouse quotes as Orioles size up the first half and look ahead

The Orioles reach the All-Star break at 44-44 after today's 3-2 loss to the Nationals, their 10th loss in the last 13 games. Several players took time to reflect on the first half and look ahead in the clubhouse after today's game:

Adam Jones on moving past Frank Robinson for eighth on the O's all-time homer list: "Anytime you do anything and you mention his name, this is pretty cool. He did that in six years here and it took me eight. He's a little better. Being in any conversation with him, especially with the rich history that the Orioles do have, that's pretty cool."

Jones on the first half: "I think we are in a unique position right now. No one is 10 games up. Come out the second half ready to go because it's time to focus, put the head down and ride it into September."

Jones on his .500 career average against Max Scherzer: "No one can solve that man. He is throwing the ball extremely well and he knows it. He is always on his A game."

Jones on whether the O's have enough to win the division?: "I feel great with our guys here. Obviously, hopefully we are buyers at the trade deadline, every team can use one or two guys. But I like the team we have here. One or two guys that are out there on the open market definitely could help this team, but I'm not the GM and they don't ask me."

Chris Davis on the team at the first half: "We are definitely not playing our best baseball at this point. We still have things we want to work on, but feel like we're in a good position to start the second half and we'll get after them."

Davis on whether it's frustrating with the inconsistent offense?: "Of course it is. This is our job and we take it seriously. We come in every day and work hard and prepare to the best of our ability. You try to get results, but nobody works harder than these guys."

Wei-Yin Chen on getting deep into games: "I pitched more innings than I thought I could, so I am satisfied with the number of innings and hopefully I can have a pretty good second half, too. I think this is the year to be as close as I can get to 200 innings, but I just want to focus on my pitching."

Matt Wieters on the second half: "We feel like we haven't been able to hit on all cylinders where the offense and pitching has clicked together and that is the key. We look at this as 162 games and we've got a shot in the second half, which is what you want. This was just the first half of the grind. Now we come back and need to play better baseball."

Manny Machado on the team losing 10 of 13: "It is part of the game and there's a long season ahead. In July, trades start coming up and people get released and I guess team chemistry starts getting tested. But we just have to keep fighting and keep our heads up.

"We feel confident with the team we have here. Our pitching staff is doing well and our bats are there. We just have to put them together and keep gridning it out. Keep battling, this is just the first half. Look to start the second half hot."