SAN FRANCISCO - After four cities, 10 games and two temperature extremes, the Orioles thought they had seen everything on this road trip, when San Francisco Giants first baseman Damon Minor hit a ball that almost changed everything.
It was the ninth inning yesterday at Pacific Bell Park, and the Orioles were one strike away from finishing .500 on a trip in which they went toe-to-toe with National League superstars Curt Schilling, Randy Johnson and Barry Bonds.
With a runner on third base and the Giants trailing by two runs, Minor turned on a 97 mph fastball from Orioles closer Jorge Julio, blasting it toward the right-field foul pole.
"That," said Orioles manager Mike Hargrove, "causes you to stop breathing for about a second."
Orioles starter Jason Johnson, who was in line for his second victory in 17 starts, watched from a clubhouse television, using body English to push the ball foul. Julio later said he had no doubt the ball was going foul, and he was right.
The ball missed a home run by five to 10 feet, and two pitches later, Julio blew another 97 mph fastball by Minor, sealing a 3-1 victory for the Orioles.
After losing a makeup game in Cleveland to start the trip, the Orioles finished 5-5, taking two of three from Philadelphia and San Francisco, and losing two of three at Arizona.
"We flew across the country and played solidly against two of the top teams in the National League West," said Orioles right fielder Gary Matthews. "It's encouraging."
Matthews had yesterday's biggest hit, a two-run single in the eighth inning off Giants reliever Aaron Fultz that broke a 1-1 tie. That put Johnson (2-5) in line for the win after he was lifted for a pinch hitter to start the eighth.
Johnson had allowed one run on three hits in Cleveland, only to see the Orioles lose, 2-1, in 10 innings, and he almost made bookends of strong performances gone to waste - one to start the trip, one to end it.
"Jason was as good as I've ever seen Jason," Hargrove said. "He was every bit as good, if not a little bit better than he was in Cleveland."
Johnson was perfect through four innings, and allowed just one run on four hits through seven. Jeff Kent tied the score with a run-scoring single in the seventh, and with Johnson scheduled to leadoff the eighth, Hargrove went to his bench.
Chris Singleton walked, and then Giants starter Livan Hernandez (6-8) hit Melvin Mora with a pitch. Brian Roberts moved the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt, bringing Matthews to the plate.
Giants manager Dusty Baker summoned the left-handed throwing Fultz to face Matthews, a switch-hitter who was batting .203 from the right side and .318 from the left side. Batting right-handed, Matthews hit a changeup from Fultz up the middle, giving the Orioles their 3-1 lead.
"I was really upset when I found out I was going to be sat down," said Johnson, who threw 73 pitches. "But it was a great managerial call there - pinch hit for me and we get two runs. There's no doubt I would have got a complete game if it had been an American League game."
Johnson, who spent six weeks on the disabled list with a broken right middle finger, earned his first win since April 20. In between his starts in Cleveland and San Francisco, which both came on brisk days, Johnson went four innings Tuesday in Phoenix, where the outside temperature was 105.
"I felt great out there today," Johnson said. "I went after the hitters like I wanted to. I wasn't going to give in to anybody."
And that included Bonds, who had four at-bats yesterday but none with a runner on base. Bonds doubled and scored on Kent's single in the seventh, but for the series he finished 2-for-8 with no home runs.
Starting the ninth inning against Julio, Rich Aurilia and Bonds both flied out to left field. Then Julio let up a bit, and Kent smacked a double to right field. A wild pitch moved Kent to third and ran the count full against Minor, bringing the sellout crowd of 41,980 to its feet.
Julio threw three more fastballs to Minor. The first one just about sank the Orioles' hearts. Minor fouled off one more before Julio finally put him away for his 15th save in 19 opportunities.