masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgThe Yankees rallied to win. The Angels rallied with two outs in the ninth and won. It spoiled what would have been a pretty special on-field celebration for the Orioles and their fans today.

“There was a chance there,” Jim Johnson said. “Now is the time we are paying more attention to the scoreboard. We were going to be doing the same things that the fans were doing, so we might as well stay out with them. We know this means a lot to the city and we wanted to celebrate with them. But we’ll…The Yankees rallied to win. The Angels rallied with two outs in the ninth and won. It spoiled what would have been a pretty special on-field celebration for the Orioles and their fans today.

“There was a chance there,” Jim Johnson said. “Now is the time we are paying more attention to the scoreboard. We were going to be doing the same things that the fans were doing, so we might as well stay out with them. We know this means a lot to the city and we wanted to celebrate with them. But we’ll now head to Florida and see what tomorrow brings.

“We’re close. We’re right there. We’re smelling it and we want to finish it off. We’ll get it done, that’s our mindset. We know this means a lot to the city and we wanted to celebrate with them.”

Johnson said it was weird feeling walking back into the clubhouse today after leaving the field where they watched the Angels take the lead in their game with Texas.

“It was a little awkward, because everything was kind of working that way,” Johnson said. “But we’ve had to fight for everything this year. With the way that game finishes up. It’s going to come down to the wire. Look at how last year finished. It was March Madness in September.”

Johnson got the final three outs today to record his 50th save. He becomes the 10th pitcher to record 50 saves in a season since the save became an official statistic in 1969.

“I don’t know. It’s a crazy number obviously. But we still have three more games, so that is where my focus is right now,” Johnson said. “I really haven’t thought about it yet. It’s a number that stands out but I need to focus on these last three games and us getting where we want to be. We don’t want to just get in. We want to play multiple series. We want to win the division.”

Johnson said this is a special group of Orioles this year.

“We don’t take ourselves really too serious,” Johnson said. “You’ve seen us after losing a couple games and winning a couple. We act the exact same way. We’re a close knit group and we all get along. We have fun and that makes the 159 games we’ve played so far go by quicker when you having fun.”