Jim Johnson

MINNEAPOLIS - Dating back to last season, the Orioles often have struggled offensively when they can't hit the longball. On Friday, in a 9-6, 10-inning victory over the Minnesota Twins, they flourished despite not going quite deep enough. That's what happens when you get a season-high 18 hits and seven of your nine batters have at least two hits apiece, the first time the Orioles have done that since exactly two years ago -- May 10, 2011 against Seattle. Instead of homering on Friday, the Orioles smacked a season-high seven doubles, including four in a three-run sixth and two more in a three-run seventh to wipe out a 6-0 deficit.

The Orioles will try to snap their season-high four-game losing streak and salvage the series finale against Tampa Bay today at Camden Yards. This is the first time the Orioles have lost five straight games at home since June 28 to July 15, 2011 and it is the first time they've began a homestand with four straight losses wince April 9-14, 2010. The Orioles haven't been swept here at Camden Yards since the second series of the season last year, April 9-11 against the Yankees. Two of those losses came in extra innings.

Jim Johnson's impressive regular season saves streak came to an end at 35 on Tuesday night when he allowed four singles and two runs in the ninth in the Orioles' 3-2 loss to the San Diego Padres . Johnson hadn't blown a regular season save since he gave up six runs in one third of an inning to the Oakland A's on July 27, 2012. He did blow one in the postseason - Game 3 of the ALDS in New York on Oct. 10 - but that didn't count toward the streak. Point is Johnson has been unbelievably good for the last year-plus, and so when he blows one it is newsworthy.

So closer Jim Johnson finally blew a save in the regular season . How long has it been? The last time he blew one Manny Machado and Nate McLouth weren't Orioles. You've got to go all the way  back to July 27, 2012 - not counting the one Game 3 of the ALDS - for a blown save by JJ. Here's a silver lining for you: Even when Johnson blows one, it's rarely ugly. He gave up four singles that were beat into the ground on Tuesday. It's not like they got a lot of lift off a guy who has made his living getting grounders.

Closer Jim Johnson set another Orioles franchise record Friday, converting his 35th consecutive save in the regular season (14 this year, most in the American League). That dates back to July 27th last year against Oakland. That's a pretty impressive streak, eclipsing Randy Myers one of 34 straight saves in 1997. Johnson kicked Myers out of the club record book last year as well when he set a single-season franchise record with 51 saves in 2012. You can make the argument that Johnson's stability at the back of the bullpen may be the biggest key to the Orioles' run the past year-plus.

Closer Jim Johnson has been named the Orioles' nominee for the 2012 Roberto Clemente Award, which recognizes a player "who best represents the game of baseball through positive contributions on and off the field, including sportsmanship and community involvement. " Beginning today, fans can vote for the national Clemente award recipient at MLB.com/ClementeAward and register for a chance to win a trip to the World Series. The award is named for the Hall of Famer who died in a plane crash on New Year's Eve 1972 while attempting to deliver supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.  “I don't really do things for name recognition,” said Johnson, who will be recognized as the club's award recipient at a ceremony Monday at Camden Yards.

Orioles fans have been spoiled by just how good closer Jim Johnson has been in 2012. He had blown two of his 32 save chances heading into Friday night. He has been nearly as automatic as a closer can be. But on Friday he simply didn't have sharp command, and the Oakland A's singled him to death - five singles and a walk after getting the first out on an excellent play by first baseman Mark Reynolds. “I fell behind and a couple balls got through,” Johnson said. “It just kind of happened.

If you are looking for a little good Orioles' news, here you go. Closer Jim Johnson, who had been dealing with back issues, pitched in consecutive games for the first time this spring and looked pretty good. In fact, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said it is the best he has looked this month. Johnson walked a batter, struck out one and got two groundouts. He threw 19 pitches, 10 for strikes, and his fastball was clocked at 94, 95 mph. “There was some unknown, he went through a little bit of an offseason that he has never done before,” Showalter said.

For all the important moments in Thursday's victory, two in particular stood out. Pedro Strop's two scoreless innings for the win and Jim Johnson's perfect 13th for the save. Johnson had just blown Game 3's save by allowing a homer to Raul Ibanez in the ninth. He also gave up four runs - including a Russell Martin homer - in the ninth in Game 1. He admitted he badly wanted the ball as soon as possible. “Yeah, it was the same response from Game 1 to Game 2. You want the ball right away,” Johnson said.

ARLINGTON, Texas - Jim Johnson is on the move. The new owner of the Orioles' record for saves in a season passes through the clubhouse with obvious intent, his eyes finding no others as he heads from one room to the next and - no doubt - some team-oriented task. Apparently, a closer's work is never done. It might be studying hitters on video or discussing some internal matter with manager Buck Showalter or maybe just doling out some fantasy football advice to one of his teammates.

Jim Johnson's impressive regular season saves streak came to an end at 35 on Tuesday night when he allowed four singles and two runs in the ninth in the Orioles' 3-2 loss to the San Diego Padres . Johnson hadn't blown a regular season save since he gave up six runs in one third of an inning to the Oakland A's on July 27, 2012. He did blow one in the postseason - Game 3 of the ALDS in New York on Oct. 10 - but that didn't count toward the streak. Point is Johnson has been unbelievably good for the last year-plus, and so when he blows one it is newsworthy.

Buck Showalter's first glimpse of closer Jim Johnson inside the Orioles clubhouse moments after his remarkable consecutive-save streak came to an sudden end Tuesday night was the sight of Johnson working up a sweat on the exercise bike in the training room. “He's grinding out on a bicycle,” the Orioles manager said, “Getting ready for [Wednesday].” Johnson's franchise-record streak of 35 consecutive converted regular-season save opportunities was snapped Tuesday night as the San Diego Padres rallied for two runs in the ninth off Johnson for a 3-2 win over the Orioles in front of an announced 19,096 at Camden Yards.

Closer Jim Johnson set another Orioles franchise record Friday, converting his 35th consecutive save in the regular season (14 this year, most in the American League). That dates back to July 27th last year against Oakland. That's a pretty impressive streak, eclipsing Randy Myers one of 34 straight saves in 1997. Johnson kicked Myers out of the club record book last year as well when he set a single-season franchise record with 51 saves in 2012. You can make the argument that Johnson's stability at the back of the bullpen may be the biggest key to the Orioles' run the past year-plus.

The Orioles bounced back from a 6-0 deficit to win, 9-6, in 10 innings Friday night against the Minnesota Twins. Among the highlights was Jim Johnson breaking Randy Myers' club record with his 35th consecutive regular-season save (dating back to last year). Here's some of the postgame chatter from the clubhouse: Johnson on his record-setting 35 th consecutive save: “I wasn't thinking about it obviously. I was just thinking about watching us chip away. I thought it was a great team win. Everybody kind of chipped in. … Good effort out of the bullpen, guys had great at-bats and we ended up pulling it out.” Johnson on whether breaking Myers consecutive saves' record means something special: “It's not really anything I'm focused on. It's great, but our ultimate goal is our team record at the end of the year and going further than that.

MINNEAPOLIS - Dating back to last season, the Orioles often have struggled offensively when they can't hit the longball. On Friday, in a 9-6, 10-inning victory over the Minnesota Twins, they flourished despite not going quite deep enough. That's what happens when you get a season-high 18 hits and seven of your nine batters have at least two hits apiece, the first time the Orioles have done that since exactly two years ago -- May 10, 2011 against Seattle. Instead of homering on Friday, the Orioles smacked a season-high seven doubles, including four in a three-run sixth and two more in a three-run seventh to wipe out a 6-0 deficit.

Each Wednesday, blogger Matt Vensel will highlight five statistics that really mean something for the Orioles. 58.9 -- the number of saves Orioles closer Jim Johnson is on pace for this season. Jim Johnson got his 12th save in Tuesday night's 4-3 win over the Kansas City Royals, tying him for second in baseball behind Jason Grilli of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Johnson has converted all 12 save opportunities in 2013. We are nearing the quarter pole of the 2013 season, and Johnson is on pace to record more than 50 saves for a second straight season (he had a club-record 51 in 2012)

The Orioles avoided arbitration with one of their key pieces from 2012, agreeing to a one-year, $6.5 million deal with closer Jim Johnson on Friday, according to multiple sources. He can receive another $50,000 in performance bonuses related to games finished. The right-handed reliever, who has been with the Orioles for his entire career, made $2.625 million in 2012. Johnson, 29, had 51 saves in 54 chances to set the franchise's single-season saves record. He also led the major leagues in that category and posted a 2.49 ERA in 71 appearances.

In a spring training camp that has been dominated by injury news, the Orioles welcomed back two key players Wednesday in an 11-5 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Neither did particularly well, but the Orioles don't care about results right now. They just want Nick Markakis and Jim Johnson healthy when the season begins. "It's a good feel for everybody to see them out there," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "You don't even get too involved at this point in the returns. " Markakis, the club's Gold Glove right fielder, played in his first game this spring after having surgery to repair abdominal tears in January.

The Orioles won three of four in Oakland, and most of the correspondence I received from fans Sunday was about how they blew the series finale. That's a good sign, I guess. You aren't content with any loss. Been a long time since that was the case (OK, so maybe in the past you weren't content, just resigned.) Anyway, as I flew to Seattle from Oakland after Sunday's game, a couple things stuck with me based on your tweets and emails. One: Many of you are unhappy with reliever Pedro Strop.

Throwing a game away - literally - doesn't usually sit well with teams, especially when they are attempting to establish themselves as consistent winners. So when the Orioles dropped a 9-8, 10-inning loss to the Oakland A's Sunday afternoon on consecutive poor throws following sacrifice bunt attempts, it would be understandable if the players were chewing nails in post-game interviews. For the most part, that was not the case - not after the Orioles (15-10) took three of four in their personal pain chamber, the Oakland Coliseum, to kick off a brutal, three-city, 11-game West Coast swing.