Nolan Reimold said struggles at the plate are not injury related

In case you are wondering, Orioles outfielder Nolan Reimold said his slow start at the plate has nothing to do with any physical ailment. He had surgery in June to remove a herniated disc in his neck and fuse two vertebrae. He was slowed in spring by right shoulder soreness and earlier this season with a hamstring injury. In 12 games, Reimold is batting .189 with one homer, one RBI, a slugging percentage of .270 and an OPS of .539. "I feel all right," Reimold said earlier in Orioles clubhouse. "The hamstring is not a big deal (anymore). Physically I am doing fine. Physically I don't have any excuses for not performing. I just have to play better. Work at it, get comfortable and start helping. It is early and I have to keep battling until things click in and I start performing better." Reimold is 0-for-7 with five strikeouts in this series. He is not alone in his struggles. The Orioles have just 16 hits the past three games and have scored just 29 runs the last nine games. "Early in the year the numbers are more noticeable when you don't have as many at-bats. Tonight we have a chance to win a series and we have to make it happen," Reimold said. One adjustment for Reimold this year has been getting at-bats from the DH spot. Coming into 2012 he had just 14 percent of his career at-bats as a DH, but this year he's had 26 of 37 in that role. Again, he said, no excuses. "It's a different mentality, a different routine during the game," Reimold said. "You just have to work at it and get used to it, but it's no excuse for not performing on the field." Tonight Reimold will bat eighth and start in left field against Tampa Bay's David Price, who is 6-2 with a 2.27 ERA in 12 career starts vs. Baltimore. What is the approach against the reigning AL Cy Young winner? "Be calm at the plate and battle," Reimold said. "He'll make good pitches, so you just have to battle and put the bat on the ball. Sounds easy."