Jim Johnson ties club record with 34th straight save as Orioles top K.C.

Jim Johnson put his name in the Orioles' record book tonight and Chris Tillman provided a fourth straight quality start in a 5-3 win over Kansas City at Camden Yards. Johnson pitched the ninth inning to record his 13th save in 13 chances on the year. It is his 34th consecutive save conversion, which ties the Orioles team record set by Randy Myers in 1997. Johnson's last blown save was July 30, 2012. Johnson has 71 saves since Sept. 7, 2011 to easily lead the majors in that span. With the win, the Orioles have won another series and they are 8-3 in their 11 series on the season, winning six of the last seven. Tillman gave up a solo homer in the fifth to Alex Gordon and a two-run shot an inning later to Mike Moustakas, who went 3-for-3 for Kansas City. Over six innings, Tillman gave up five hits and three runs with three walks and two strikeouts, throwing 93 pitches. Tillman improves to 3-1 with an ERA of 3.76. Over his last four starts, Tillman has pitched to an ERA of 2.02, allowing six earned runs over 26 2/3 innings. He had not pitched well previously against Kansas City, with an 0-2 record and a 10.93 ERA in three career starts against the Royals. J.J. Hardy homered for the third time in the last four games and his two-run shot in the second made it a 2-0 game. The Orioles lead grew to 5-1 as Kansas City made three errors in a very messy last of the fifth inning. Chris Dickerson led off that frame with a double and Manny Machado singled in a run amid the errors and a K.C. wild pitch that plated the inning's last run. Hardy is now 7-for-18 with three homers and five RBIs during a five-game batting streak. He has 13 RBIs over his past 19 games. Tonight, the Orioles extended their streak of winning when leading after seven innings to 108 regular-season games. The streak dates to Aug. 8, 2011. The Orioles have now won a season-high four in a row and five of the last six. They are 9-4 over the last 13 games, 21-13 overall and now a season-best eight games over the .500 mark.