Wrapping up an 8-6 loss

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles have lost three of their last 10 games by scores of 14-6, 10-1 and tonight's 8-6 final against the Rays. The other two most recent losses were 10-4 and 8-6.

When they're on the short end of a final, they're not shy about giving up runs. There's no logical explanation, of course. It's just another layer of frustration in a season that's down to its last 15 games.

"I wish there was something we could pinpoint so we could keep those games close," said catcher Caleb Joseph. "Especially with the call-ups we have, we can start to play matchups late in the game and win a game like we did last night. I think for the most part it just comes down to keeping us in the game early on, and if we have a chance toward the end of the game, we like our chances. It just didn't work out tonight, but we've got to get ready to get them tomorrow."

The tomorrows are dwindling for a team that's now three games below .500.

"There's no panic on this team," Joseph said. "We understand the position, but we still believe we can do it. Until the very last day of the season and they say you can't play anymore, we're going to keep fighting until that day.

"It's been a better clubhouse and we know we can win, so we just have to go out there and do the little things that we do to win baseball games."

A big hurdle is having inexperienced pitchers making starts in September. Mike Wright appears to be out of the rotation for now, and Tyler Wilson was charged tonight with six runs in 4 1/3 innings.

"It was just fastball command," Joseph said. "He's usually the guy who comes in and throws pretty close to where you're set up with the glove. He made a couple pitches early on that he needed to make and then just kind of lost his fastball command.

"It's been a while since he's been here. Full of energy and just have to find a way to hone that in and continue to make pitches. He usually doesn't struggle with command, so he was grinding through that start there."

Wilson agreed that fastball command was the primary issue, that it "pretty much deserted me tonight."

"I was executing in the bullpen, felt pretty good in the bullpen, but fastball command was not there on either side of the plate and definitely not down," he said. "I missed a lot of pitches in the middle of the plate. On top of that I was behind guys and didn't really execute too many breaking balls. So, to have those three things not going in your favor and not being able to make the adjustment is not a good omen for how the night is going to go."

Maybe it was the rust. Maybe it was fatigue from a long season. Maybe it just wasn't his night.

"I don't want to make any excuses for that," he said. "I definitely take pride in getting after my work every day for when that opportunity does present itself. Yeah, it is uncharacteristic to lose fastball command, to lose the ability to command on both sides of the plate. It happens from time to time to everybody and I need to do a better job of making the adjustment in-game and making whatever change needs to be done."

Wilson was making his third major league start. He also wanted to make a more favorable impression and allow the Orioles to continue rolling after last night's come-from-behind win.

"Extremely frustrating," he said. "I was really excited for how the team came back last night from 3-0 to win that game. That's an opportunity to really build some momentum coming into the last homestretch of the season. I thought about it all last night and coming in today how important it is for a starting pitcher to take command of the game from pitch one. And that's how momentum is built.

"I was pretty amped up when I went out there and a combination of being excited and having that adrenaline going for not only a spot start but an opportunity to kind of build some momentum for the team, led to what it led to. I missed the first inning and continuing through the game I missed up throughout the game. I was underneath the ball and that's really a result of rushing through your delivery, speeding up and that's a result of the energy that I had and I need to do a better job of harnessing that."

Wilson relies on his command to make up for average velocity. When it abandons him, "he's going to have a challenge then," said manager Buck Showalter.

"But that's his forte and I think he will pitch better. I think the six or seven days he's had (off) and the time of year.... You've got to keep in mind these guys have never really pitched in September before, so it's part of the process and I think he will learn from it. He's a sharp, competitive guy.

"I was talking with Caleb. He probably hit the spot maybe four or five times. That's not him. He's capable of pitching up here, as you've seen, when he commands the baseball. This time of year pitchers are a little more tired than they were obviously in February and March. Hitters are, too. And it's really a challenge. That's why we always talk about delivery and mechanics, because it allows you to repeat your arm action so that you can get the baseball where you need to. And he missed with the plate a lot and that's just not Tyler.

"Of course, he wasn't not the only one. We've had a lot of counts in our favor the last month and a half. It goes from 0-2 to a walk and that just can't happen. We didn't do as much offensively as the runs looked like. We'd like to take advantage of six runs."

Left-hander Drew Smyly had a career 0.79 ERA in seven games against the Orioles, but he allowed five runs in 5 2/3 innings tonight.

"I thought we did a good job of keeping his pitch count in the area with his shoulder issues," Showalter said. "You know they're not going to push too much even though he did throw over 100-something, but that's their business. I like the way we way we made him work after that, but we just didn't match up pitching-wise tonight. We made a lot of mistakes."

J.J. Hardy hit a three-run homer, his first since July 29, and Lakeland, Fla. native Steve Pearce homered twice in the loss.

"I feel comfortable here," Pearce said. "I was just glad that I'm starting to square some balls up. I'll try to do it again tomorrow."

Keep trying while the Orioles still have a tomorrow.

"It's definitely frustrating," Pearce said. "We've just got to do a better job, both sides of the ball. And we've got to keep fighting. I know we're a long shot, but we're still not out of it."