Orioles' Jones rips critics after latest loss

The Baltimore Orioles had no answer for Derek Holland on Sunday, and that didn't sit too well with Baltimore's Adam Jones.

Holland tossed a complete game three-hit shutout, sitting down every Baltimore hitter on his way to 11 strikeouts in the Rangers' 6-0 win.

With the loss, Baltimore has dropped 10 of its last 11, falling 5 1/2 games behind the Rangers in the AL wild-card chase, and leading Jones to express his frustration in postgame comments.

"We might be getting beat, but that's not from a lack of effort," Jones told Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. "It annoys the hell out of me when people say effort is low.

"Whenever someone says, 'Oh you don't give an effort. You're not playing with effort.' That's kind of calling someone a coward. To say our effort wasn't there, that's a slap in the face and I want to slap somebody in the face who says that."

When asked if the team would hold a meeting to discuss the slump, Jones continued his verbal barrage.

"I talk to these guys every day. What do you want me to do? Bend over and spank them? They are grown men."

The left-handed Holland became the first Rangers pitcher since Nolan Ryan to throw a shutout at home with at least 11 strikeouts.

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

In just his fourth start of the season, the southpaw threw 116 pitches - 79 of which were strikes - without walking a batter.

Only Jones, Chris Davis, and Dariel Alvarez were able to record a knock against Holland, with Jones' first-inning double the farthest an Orioles hitter traveled on the basepaths.

Prior to his return to the Rangers' rotation on Aug. 19, Holland missed most of the season with shoulder trouble.

With the victory, he dropped his ERA to 2.82, and looks to be back to the form that made him a stalwart in the Rangers' rotation between 2011 and 2013.