masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Steve Tolleson explained to reporters tonight how he got thrown out at second base on J.J. Hardy’s fly ball as Bill Hall was attempting to score the Orioles’ first run.

“I knew the throw was going to come there,” he said. “I just saw where he was in the outfield and thought I could make it. It was a bad play. I was a little bit too aggressive there in a situation where I really didn’t need to be aggressive. My run really didn’t mean much. Fortunately we didn’t…ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Steve Tolleson explained to reporters tonight how he got thrown out at second base on J.J. Hardy’s fly ball as Bill Hall was attempting to score the Orioles’ first run.

“I knew the throw was going to come there,” he said. “I just saw where he was in the outfield and thought I could make it. It was a bad play. I was a little bit too aggressive there in a situation where I really didn’t need to be aggressive. My run really didn’t mean much. Fortunately we didn’t lose the game by one run, but it was a big situation and I was just too aggressive.”

Tolleson doesn’t sense any panic in the Orioles’ clubhouse. No concerns about the losses snowballing and the Orioles being buried in the standings.

“This is a resilient team,” he said. “We showed that. I think we had a 12-game stretch in May where we won 10 of 12. We’re definitely capable of doing that against teams in the East. And when you’re playing teams in the East, you’re obviously playing great teams with great pitching staffs. We just need to pick it up offensively and get it going.”

“We can’t let it snowball,” Adam Jones said. “We have to come out, we’ve got to swing the bats. We just need to maybe be a little more aggressive. We got down early. Can’t let a pitcher like (David) Price get a lead like that. But at the same time, we need to come out and swing the bats.

“We, as in all 25. We need to play better. And that’s pretty simple.”

Wei-Yin Chen’s start became complicated in the first inning, but he got into a groove and retired 14 of 16 until Kevin Gregg replaced him with two outs in the sixth.

“It’s a dark time for our team and I really wanted to help them to win today, but the first inning I couldn’t command my fastball and my off-speed pitches were out of the zone,” Chen said. “I didn’t do my job today.”