masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgIt was yet another Orioles game where the talk was about a lack of offense. Once again, Derrek Lee stood by his locker to answer similar questions after Saturday’s 8-2 loss to Tampa Bay.

“We didn’t swing the bats. I don’t know what else to say. We didn’t score any runs,” he said. “We are putting too much pressure on our pitching staff, scoring one and two runs every day. We’re fighting hard, maybe too hard. We probably need to try and do a little less, play small ball or something like…It was yet another Orioles game where the talk was about a lack of offense. Once again, Derrek Lee stood by his locker to answer similar questions after Saturday’s 8-2 loss to Tampa Bay.

“We didn’t swing the bats. I don’t know what else to say. We didn’t score any runs,” he said. “We are putting too much pressure on our pitching staff, scoring one and two runs every day. We’re fighting hard, maybe too hard. We probably need to try and do a little less, play small ball or something like that until we find our strokes.”

Lee had a forgettable day, going 0-for-5 with three strikeouts, a pop-up and a he hit into a double play. Each time he batted, there was at least one runner on base.

Lee was asked yet again if it might help him to drop down in the batting order.

“As a player it’s irrelevant,” Lee said. “It doesn’t change how you swing the bat. That’s all I can say on that.”

But would there be less pressure on him hitting lower in the lineup?

“I’ve batted in the three-hole a long time. It’s not pressure to me, it’s the pressure that I put on myself to perform. No matter where I hit, I want to produce,” added Lee, who is now batting .234 with three homers and eight RBIs.

Lee was not the only Oriole to not take advantage of an opportunity on a day the club drew 10 walks but went just 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

For just the second time in club history, the Orioles scored two or fewer runs in a nine-inning game on a day they drew 10 or more walks. It first happened on July 14, 1974 versus the Chicago White Sox.

“It’s about wins and losses. It’s disappointing to lose two in a row at home. Our offense can make it easier on the situation if we start swinging the bats good,” Lee said.

Note: The Orioles have put catcher Craig Tatum on the minor league seven-day disabled list. He left last night’s Triple-A Norfolk game in the second inning with shoulder soreness. Catcher Michel Hernandez has taken his place on the Tides’ roster.