Padres 3, Orioles 2
Instead of blowing a lead, the San Diego Padres erased a deficit.
What's more, the comeback came against a guy who hadn't blown a save opportunity since last July.
Chris Denorfia and Everth Cabrera hit two-out RBI singles off Jim Johnson in the ninth inning, and the Padres got a home run from Carlos Quentin in a 3-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night.
After the Orioles took a 2-1 lead in the eighth, Johnson (1-3) entered with a franchise-record streak of 35 straight converted saves. He immediately gave up two consecutive singles before getting Jedd Gyorko to hit into a 6-4-3 double play. But Denorfia followed with a single up the middle and, after Johnson hit Nick Hundley with a pitch, Cabrera singled to center for a 3-2 lead.
The win came after San Diego lost three straight in Tampa Bay, despite holding the lead in the fifth inning or later in each game.
''To get to (Johnson) is a great accomplishment for us,'' Padres manager Bud Black said. ''Those are great on the road, they really are, to snatch one back when they took the lead.''
Johnson hadn't blown a save opportunity since July 27, 2012, against Oakland. His streak of 35 broke the Orioles mark of 34, set in 1997 by Randy Myers.
''I really didn't put a whole lot of stock into it,'' the right-hander said. ''It was just something you guys like to talk about.''
He blamed his reversal of fortune on poor location.
''As soon as I got off the field I looked, and pitches were in different spots than they're normally at,'' Johnson said. ''It's about execution. At this level the talent is too good. You have to execute and tonight I didn't and wasted a good effort from a lot of guys on this team.''
Cabrera's hit was the 60,000th in Padres history.
Luke Gregerson (2-2) got the last out in the eighth and Huston Street earned his ninth save. The Padres were 0-18 when trailing after eight innings.
Street gave up a game-ending homer in the ninth against Tampa Bay on Saturday, so he was determined to make things right.
''The one in Tampa frustrated me more than any save in my life,'' Street said. ''I took a lot of responsibility for not making those pitches. It bugged me, so tonight was one I really wanted.''
He then said something that Johnson can take to heart.
''You can come back and get it done,'' Street said. ''That's what this game is all about. It's bouncing back. It's just moving on to the next day and making the next pitch. You make the next pitch and good things will happen.''
Ryan Flaherty homered for the Orioles, who fell to 18-2 when leading after eight.
With the score tied at 1 in the eighth, Flaherty drew a one-out walk from Andrew Cashner and was replaced by pinch-runner Alexi Casilla. After Cashner threw to first base several times to check the runner, Casilla took off for second. The throw from Hundley came up short and bounced into the outfield, allowing Casilla to reach third on the error.
Steve Pearce followed with a line-drive single to left to chase Cashner, who matched a career high by working 7 1-3 innings.
Orioles starter Chris Tillman allowed one run, four hits and two walks in seven innings. Although the right-hander wasn't involved in the decision, he lowered his ERA to 3.40 and remained unbeaten since April 17.
It was the first meeting between the teams since 2010 and first in Baltimore since 2002. The series is tied at 5.
Quentin led off the second inning with a drive to left to put the Padres up 1-0. San Diego then loaded the bases with two outs before Tillman struck out Cabrera.
Flaherty tied it in the third with an opposite-field fly that dropped into the front row of the left-field seats. It was only the second home run off Cashner in his five starts this season.
In the sixth, Quentin's bid for another home run was denied by center fielder Adam Jones, who made a leaping catch at the top of the 7-foot wall.
NOTES: The Orioles placed LHP Wei-Yin Chen (strained right oblique) on the 15-day disabled list and recalled RHP Alex Burnett and INF Yamaico Navarro from Triple-A Norfolk. ... The Padres have hit 20 homers in their last 15 games. ... Orioles LHP Tsuyoshi Wada, recovering from elbow ligament replacement surgery, will make his first rehabilitation start Thursday for Norfolk. ... Jason Marquis (4-2) starts for the Padres against Freddy Garcia (0-1) in the series finale Wednesday afternoon. ... Gyorko snapped an 0-for-12 slide with a second-inning single. ... Of the 47 home runs Tillman has allowed in his career, 32 have been solo shots. ... Baltimore's J.J. Hardy singled in the fifth to extend his hitting streak to 10 games.