BALTIMORE — There were 51 saves during the season, a major-league best. And there was a season-ending stretch of 48 games where he gave up no home runs, including the playoffs, entering last night.
Jim Johnson is the Orioles’ closer, but in last night’s ALDS opener, he failed. Johnson did not blow a save, but he flushed a tie game by serving up five runs (four earned) in the ninth inning, kickstarting the meltdown by surrendering Russell Martin’s leadoff homer.
Johnson recorded only one out, taking the loss and getting pulled by manager Buck Showalter in the Yankees’ 7-2 win.
“I made mistakes,” Johnson said.
The 29-year-old Johnson, who was born in Johnson City, N.Y., and attended Union-Endicott High School in Endicott, N.Y., came into last night’s game in the ninth inning, the score tied 2-2.
Baltimore’s vaunted bullpen had done outstanding work, particularly submarining righty Darren O’Day and lefty Brian Matusz, in tossing 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
Johnson promptly fell behind Martin 2-0, and as catcher Matt Wieters said: “It’s a tough spot to get yourself in.”
Martin drilled the next pitch, a 93-mph fastball, into the left-field stands to break the tie.
“The ball that Martin hit was just up a little bit,” Wieters said.
It would get worse. Raul Ibanez and Derek Jeter both singled, putting men on first and third with nobody out. Ichiro Suzuki then reached on a run-scoring infield single, thanks partly to an indecisive Johnson fielding the ball and failing to make a play.
Johnson struck out Alex Rodriguez — a small feat the way the Yankees third baseman looks right now — but Robinson Cano delivered a two-run double. That was it for Johnson, who was later charged with an unearned run, too.
“I can’t remember him ever having an inning like that,” Orioles first baseman Mark Reynolds said. “It happens to the best of us.”
The question now is how this affects Johnson, who also struggled to close out Friday’s wild-card victory over Texas and who has no other playoff experience.
If he’s summoned for a save situation or a tie game later this series, Johnson will hardly seem bulletproof.
“That’s the easiest question I’ll get tonight,” Showalter said when asked if he wonders if Johnson can rebound from this. “It’s real easy to put your faith in a guy like Jim Johnson, not only as a pitcher but as a man. He’s the reason why we’re out there playing this game tonight, one of the big reasons. Every guy in that clubhouse knows that he’s a special guy.”