Showalter: "I'm more concerned right now that we gave them all those runs"

NEW YORK - So much for that 100 percent chance of rain tonight. And Derek Jeter not getting another at-bat as the game moved into the ninth inning. Just when you think you've got it figured out... The Angels' magic number for clinching home field throughout the playoffs is down to one following the Orioles' 6-5 loss to the Yankees. Jeter got his final at-bat in the bottom of the ninth and made the most of it with a single to right field off Evan Meek that scored pinch-runner Antoan Richardson, a former Orioles farmhand. We could focus on the home runs by Adam Jones and Steve Pearce in the top of the ninth that tied the game. We could focus on Jeter's walk-off hit in his last game at Yankee Stadium, a dramatic moment of such epic proportions that Disney should already be negotiating for the movie rights. Manager Buck Showalter was mostly consumed by the three errors tonight that tied a season-high. Unacceptable in his book. "I'm more concerned right now that we gave them all those runs," he said. "We just didn't play very good defense tonight and had a walk or two. We scored, really, all the runs via the home run with the exception of the baserunner before Jonesy's. ... He had a ball at his coconut there and stuck his nose back in there and had a big hit for us to get us back in there. And Stevie, it looks like he's swinging the bat well. All that other stuff, you're just trying to win a baseball game. "We understand what's going on with the emotion in the ballpark. Hopefully, it's a good preparation for what's ahead of us in some ballparks. But the guys handled themselves well. Our defense cost Gaus (Kevin Gausman) about 25 pitches, which he probably could have pitched another inning or two. We're looking at some personnel this time of the year, try to help us make good decisions as we try to put our roster together. So, we'll see." The Orioles lined the railing of the dugout during the last inning and stayed to applaud Jeter as he walked back to his position one final time. Jeter tipped his cap to them and later wished them luck in the playoffs, saying they deserved to go. "Our guys, everybody has a lot of respect for Derek and what his career has been about," Showalter said. "You never like to lose a game, but you try to keep a grip on reality and the whole gamut of it. We wish him well and I'm sure it was a great moment for him here. And it will be a great moment for us as we go forward to continue to play." The atmosphere resembled October baseball. "I think it's because there's so much focus on one guy," Showalter said. "Derek, anything that's taking away from the team... but I thought it was a good atmosphere to play in. A lot different than the one we'll play in tomorrow night." Gausman gave up two runs in the first inning to nullify the back-to-back home runs by Nick Markakis and Alejandro De Aza and threw 30 pitches before heading back to the dugout, but he retired 13 of 15 batters. "A lot of pitchers, that first inning, to get their feet on the ground, but he pitched real well after that," Showalter said. "Like I said, the defense cost him a bunch of pitches and that's something we're going to have to make sure we get back to playing defensively like we need to." Hiroki Kuroda settled down to retire 16 in a row before David Robertson blew the save. "He's got good stuff," Showalter said. "He's pitched well against us for a long time. We've had a couple times where we've kind of done a better job against him, but he's solid. It's amazing that many splits and everybody knows it's coming, it tells you how good it is. "It will be interesting to see what he does in the offseason. Obviously, they can afford him. He's been solid. He's been a great contributor here. So, we don't feel like he's picking on us, but it sure seems like it." Pearce tied the game with his home run in his first game back after being scratched from the lineup Friday with a sore right wrist. "That's Stevie," Showalter said. "Stevie for some reason, it doesn't take long. I think it's because of his work habits. I know he feels like he's been let out of jail to actually start to hit again, because he loves to hit." Showalter was asked one more question about Jeter, who broke into the majors in 1995 with Showalter as his manager. "We don't like losing," Showalter said. "These games mean something to us. I was real proud of our guys competing like they did in the moment. Started out well and we tied it back up. But we had four or five guys we weren't going to pitch tonight. Of course, Derek's always been able to dial up what the needs of the team are, and they needed a base hit to right and he got it." Here's more from the clubhouse, starting with Jones: On the emotion of the game "We needed to win a game. That's what it was. Obviously, it was Jeter's last home game. The emotions were for them. As a fan of the game, as a player, it's cool, but we want to win the game." On playoff atmosphere "If you come to Yankee Stadium for Jeter's last game, you've can pretty much expect a packed crowd. This whole week there's been great crowds in support of him." On homering after Robertson threw a pitch near his head "I wouldn't say it was kind of at my head. It was pretty much near the head. Robertson is an aggressive pitcher and I'm sure he's not trying to do things like that. He was trying to go up and in, which is the things he does. It was a little high. No hard feelings about that. Just got my head back in there and put a good swing on another pitch." On Kuroda "Nobody got anything going from the second inning to the seventh inning on both sides. Gausman settled in and T.J. (McFarland) came in and gave us two or three good innings." On the three errors "Those aren't errors we make. We know that. But that happens when you're put in that situation. It's not the end of the world. We've just got to fix it." Here's Gausman: On the first inning "It was awesome at first. Two runs and I was like, 'This is awesome.' We had a lead at the start, but give up the hit to (Brett) Gardner and then really kind of blacked out for that entire at-bat. I was trying to throw perfect pitches and that's how I got down 3-0. I got back into a hitter's count and just left too good a pitch for him. That's why he's been playing the last 20 years." On the postseason atmosphere "Yeah, definitely. That's one thing I take out of it. When Jeter hit that double and scored Gardner and I was behind home plate, I could feel the entire place shaking. Obviously, something that can only be what happens in playoff games or big games like this. I think obviously the crowd was very, very excited for him and for that moment. I think that's how most playoff games are going to be like." On the ninth inning "It kind of seemed like something out of a book. We tie it up off their closer, and you kind of look up there and 'Who's coming up to bat? All right, maybe he'll be up with a guy on base.' Sure enough, he comes up and there's a pinch-runner on second base. Just kind of perfect to end up his career here at Yankee Stadium." Here's Meek: On facing Jeter in that situation "Threw him a cutter away. It's just, baseball has a funny way of, what better way to go out here at Yankee Stadium then to do what he did? I can't be upset about it. It was a great day for him, a great day for his fans a great day for baseball. It was just an amazing moment. Obviously, you don't want to be the guy out there who gives up the game, but I kind of feel like today it wasn't about me, it wasn't about anyone else. It was his day and it was a great day for baseball. I can either be upset about it or embrace it. What a moment. What a career he's had. It was really an honor and a privilege to just be out there and share the field with him. "It was a great moment for the game and the Yankees organization, the fans who came tonight. Wow. What a way to do it. Destiny has a way of working. It was an amazing moment." On whether he thought he'd end up facing Jeter "We were talking about that in the bullpen. Who's going to get the last at-bat? And then Webby (Ryan Webb) came in and we came back and tied the game up. It was so quick. The phone rang, we got tied and then boom. I knew who I was facing. I knew who was coming up. I give up the gift and bunt that moved him over and then Derek Jeter. And he won the game. Everything happening very fast. Again, it was an amazing moment for baseball, for Yankees fans, for Derek Jeter, who I grew up watching as a kid. I can't be upset about it. It was a great moment. "I watched him. When he got the hit, I watched him round first and watched him jump. The crowd went nuts. In that situation, you just can't be upset about that kind of thing. It's bigger than all of us. It was just a great moment. A great moment for the game and him. There's no better way for him to go out. It was just an amazing moment. "The game has a funny way of working out. I know they go to Boston to end the season, but tonight with it being Derek Jeter's last game here, what better way to send Derek Jeter out than with the game-winning hit? An amazing moment." On Orioles watching from the dugout and tipping their caps "Just shows what kind of guy Jeter is. This guy's last game here, he's doing an interview on the field and he looks over at our dugout and says, 'Good luck. You deserve it.' It just shows the kind of class he has. He looked over in our dugout and said 'Good luck,' and he meant it sincerely. He's a legend. He's done everything right. Not many people can do what he did and went out the way he did. You just can't be upset about it. That moment, the whole day was above everyone. It was all about his legacy that he's going to leave here. It was really an honor and a privilege to just be out there and share the field with him."