Music: {allcanada} Lawrie blunder costs Blue Jays in loss to O's

Brett Lawrie's all-out brand baseball is often times a sight to behold.

But during Saturday's 6-4 loss to the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre, two ill-conceived acts of aggression on the basepaths by the Toronto Blue Jays young third baseman left fans and teammates looking away.

The first incident occurred with Toronto leading 2-1 in the bottom of the third with the bases loaded and two out, Lawrie standing on third base and Jose Bautista at the plate.

After Bautista fell behind 0-2 against Orioles starter Jason Hammel, Lawrie surprised everyone in the stadium -- including his manager John Farrell -- by breaking for home before the next pitch.

Unfazed, Hammel threw home to catcher Matt Wieters, who applied the tag to the hard-charging Lawrie to bring the inning to an abrupt end as an incredulous Bautista could only watch.

Then in the bottom of the fourth, this time with Toronto trailing 3-2, Lawrie was thrown out attempting to steal second with two outs and J.P. Arencibia in the batter's box.

Following the game - the now 4-4 Blue Jays' second straight defeat to their visiting AL East division rivals - Farrell chalked up Lawrie's baserunning blunders to "youthful exuberance," while the third baseman suggested some misfortune may have been at play in the second inning.

"When (Hammel) went into the full windup there … I was just kind of timing his delivery towards home and I just decided to be aggressive and take off," Lawrie explained. "I thought I could try and sneak one by him but the timing was a little different. I guess he was in between signs and whatnot and stepped off (the rubber). A bit of bad luck."

Farrell suggested some poor concentration was at play as well.

"We have to continue to educate the game situations," he explained. "When a pitcher's in a prolonged inning, when you're running up a pitch count you don't want to give away an out on the basepaths, particularly early in the game when you've got a chance to put a crooked number on the board."

Hammel was merely grateful.

"I was surprised. It was more of a 'Thank you,'" he said. "With Bautista up there and the bases loaded, that's kind of a favour to me for him to try and steal home. I was very calm and stepped off. You're out of an inning. That was a big spot in the game."

It was, but there were a few more moments to come as for the second-straight game and the fourth time in eight contests to start the season, the Toronto bullpen coughed up a late lead.

After Henderson Alvarez gave the Blue Jays yet another quality start with seven innings of six-hit, three-run work, Farrell handed the ball over to Casey Janssen for the top of the eighth with a 4-3 lead.

Janssen, who entered Saturday's contest having given up four hits and three runs in his past two outings, retired the first two batters he faced before Wilson Betemit connected for a game-tying home run to right.

In the ninth, with closer Sergio Santos still unavailable while on paternity leave, Farrell turned to Francisco Cordero to hold the fort. Following a leadoff single to Chris Davis that went off Cordero's leg, Nolan Reimold sent an offering from the 36-year-old veteran into the second deck in left to put the Orioles in front for good.

On the plus side for Toronto, Colby Rasmus enjoyed another big day in the field and at the plate, contributing three singles and two RBIs, while Kelly Johnson reached base for the eighth-straight game thanks to his third home run of the season, a solo shot in the bottom of first.

Meanwhile, the early-season struggles of Bautista and J.P. Arencibia continued, with the latter now mired in a 2-for-28 slump following an 0-for-4 afternoon, including the ninth inning when he hit into a 6-4-3 double play with Rasmus on first.

As for Bautista, despite a first-inning single, he continued to show impatience and frustration at the plate during a 1-for-5 afternoon in which he again struggled to lay off pitches down and away. His batting average now sits below .200 entering play Sunday.

But back to Lawrie. After explaining the thought-process behind his charge home in the second, he made it clear he intends to learn from Saturday's mistakes.

"I don't have any regrets about that situation, but at the time I never want to take the bat out of Jose's hands, especially that situation with the bases loaded and one of the best hitters in the game up," he said. "I don't want to take the bat out of his hands but at the same time, I'm still going to continue to be aggressive but just try to be a little smarter next time."

NOTES: Following the game Toronto optioned left-hander Aaron Laffey to triple-A Las Vegas with Santos scheduled to be activated Sunday. Farrell said Evan Crawford, who was recalled from double-A New Hampshire, will be used as a situational lefty with Luis Perez and Carlos Villanueva serving as long men… Following an off-day Monday, the Blue Jays will open a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays Tuesday at Rogers Centre. Ricky Romero is scheduled to start for Toronto against Jeff Niemann of the Rays.