Adam Jones on the lost leads and Ubaldo Jiménez on his outing

Orioles center fielder Adam Jones said it was a loss. It was a lost game like other losses and the score could have been 5-3 or 7-6, he said.

But this was one where the Orioles worked out to a 5-0 lead in the second tonight and watched another lead evaporate. And then they got hammered 14-7 by the Twins on a night when starter Ubaldo Jiménez could not an out in the fifth inning and O's pitchers allowed 21 hits.

It only counts as one loss and that might be the only good news to come out of this one. Jones said he is not about to point any fingers after his team saw a five-run lead turn into a seven-run defeat.

"It's a collective effort and we lost as a team tonight," Jones said. "We got our tails kicked as a team. Won't point fingers at anyone individually. It's a team effort. I lost, the Orioles lost, everyone in this clubhouse lost tonight. Now regroup and figure out a way to not allow that much offense for the other team."

Is the concern level mounting after another night and another blown lead?

"That is not my concern," Jones said. "That's not my expertise. I play center field. I know that the pitchers are going out there giving it their all. For me to comment or try and talk bad about them would be out of my character. I'm not the one throwing the ball. They are out their grinding their tails off and I just play defense behind them. However they go out grinding it out, I'm just a guy out there giving it all I've got to help them.

"I know it's frustrating for them. They don't want to allow hit after hit after we've put up some runs. But I think we have a good staff and good coaches on the pitching side and they'll figure it out. You start talking about other people's jobs, you open yourself up for other things you don't need. I stand behind our pitchers."

Jones was asked if he feels the need to provide support for a struggling teammate like Jiménez. He said that would more be the case for a less-experienced pitcher.

"He's been in the big leagues for 10 years," Jones said. "He understands what needs to be done. You don't have to talk to him like he's a rookie or anything like that. He knows exactly what needs to be done, so let him figure it out."

Jiménez gave up one run in the third and fourth innings and took the mound for the top of the fifth with a 6-2 lead. Four quick hits and two runs followed, and Tyler Wilson came on. Two of Jiménez's inherited runs scored and it was tied 6-6. Six runs in the next inning turned it into a blowout and the O's could not recover.

Jiménez was asked about another lost lead.

"I don't know. I don't know," he said. "I can't pinpoint whatever happened before. But tonight it was about them. They came out swinging. I don't think I made enough good pitches. I don't feel good about the way I was pitching. I know that I had a good game against Washington the other day. But of course I don't feel good about the way I've been pitching. I know it's not enough."

His ERA is up to 7.17 and he's allowed 15 earned runs over 16 2/3 his past three starts. He has given up five runs or more five times.

"It's tough," Jiménez said. "You want to forget about whatever happens in the game before and just move on to the next one. It's not easy. But you have to find a way. This is baseball. You have to find a way to move on after whatever happened the day before."

Jiménez was asked if this is his most challenging time as an Oriole and if he is concerned about losing his rotation spot.