Fans might have worried about Orioles closer Jim Johnson's mental state on Monday a day removed from losing to the Yankees in Game 1 of their ALDS. As he showed in Game 2, however, he's doing just fine.
Johnson notched the save in Baltimore's 3-2 victory, pitching a 1-2-3 ninth inning while striking out Alex Rodriguez for the game's final out. If fans had been in the Orioles clubhouse before the game, however, they would have known that Johnson wasn't sweating what the night had in store for him.
The O's closer was too busy presenting a cartoonishly large check to his teammate, reliever Darren O'Day, as a result of a longstanding bet the two had this season. The pitchers played H-O-R-S-E often during the year, with a wager of $20 on the line each time. It turns out O'Day got the better of Johnson 10 times more than vice versa, so Johnson paid off his dues on Monday in the form of a $200 donation to a Baltimore-area charity, BARCS.
"Usually I go with the free throw for the ending, for the E, and he can't
make it," O'Day explained to MLB.com's Britt Ghiroli. "[Johnson is] like Shaq. Much better pitcher
than basketball player, that's for sure."
Check out a photo of the relievers with the big check in the photo below.
Photo via Twitter/@DODay56
