Bell talks about his first Major League game (plus Arrieta and Patterson quotes)

The game was without too much drama, but it was an eventful night for Josh Bell. The 23-year-old third baseman made his Major League debut which included his first hit and his first error in the field during Oakland's 8-1 win over the Orioles on Thursday night. "Amped up a little bit. I didn't think I put that much on it. But, just getting out there was a good thing," Bell said about his fifth-inning throwing error. After ground outs in the second and fifth, Bell singled to left on a 2-0 pitch vs. Trevor Cahill in the seventh for his first big league hit. "Jake Fox said, the cool thing about it is, no one can ever take that from you. It's true and it's a great feeling. "I'm glad to get the first one out of the way, it's exciting. Hopefully they'll be more to come." Bell struck out with two men on in the ninth to complete his 1 for 4 day at the bat. Bell said he's aware his stay in the Majors could be brief this time. If it turns out that way, he's sure okay with it. "There would be no hard feelings either way. This is a dream of mine. If I go down, I'm striving to get back. All positive things." He said he handled his first-day nerves well and the Orioles welcomed him to the team. "I was pretty pumped throughout the day. I usually get nervous, but I was pretty good today. "This is a great bunch of guys." Jake Arrieta talked about his outing: "The second inning was an unfortunate inning. Had a couple of chances to pitch out of it, but just wasn't able to do so. Cust got me with a double. Just got to do a better job of reading his swing, because his bat path goes through the lower part of the zone and I threw him a sinker down. "I have to learn to trust my stuff a little more. Stop being so picky around the zone and trust that it's good enough to get these guys out." Arrieta said he improved over his last two games: "I definitely think so. My delivery and my tempo was a lot better. I felt like I was more in control out there. Pace of the game was turned up a notch and that makes you better. There is a lot to take out of that outing, it's something to build off." Corey Patterson talked about his misplay of a two-run double in the second inning: "Yeah it was hit right at me. Those are the toughest ones. I think the ball might have been slicing a little bit, kept carrying. Unfortunately, it got over my head. I tried to play it the best I could, but that's what happened." Patterson asked if he has trouble in left after playing so much previously in center?: "I don't really think so, I think that was a tough play. For me, sometimes it's moreso (the difficulty) is the kind of throw you are going to make playing left field, throwing to home, you aren't going to put as much on it because the throw is a lot shorter. Personally that's really the only thing that I had to be conscious of. A couple balls I may have airmailed, I didn't need to throw that hard. "But other than that I feel pretty comfortable out there and I think I am making good plays." Patterson reaction to Juan Samuel's comments about the club's struggles on defense recently: "You are definitely right. Defensively, pitching and defense wins games. Especially if we are not scoring runs, which you tend to focus on. But he's right. Bats kind of come and go, unfortunately. But defense and baserunning is something you do every day."