"It looked like a perfect setup Tuesday night for Joakim Soria on his 26th birthday.

The Royals were nursing a lead into the late innings against the Baltimore Orioles and, if they could get it to the ninth inning, Soria would have the chance to mark his birthday with his 100th career save.

That chance never arrived. The Orioles pulled even in the eighth against Blake Wood before gaining a 4-3 victory in 10 innings at Camden Yards.

No. 100 will have to wait for another day.

Soria shrugged off the delay with much the same aplomb that he handles himself on the mound when things start to go wrong.

"You have to be like that," he explained. "If you get panicked, you're going to mess it up again. If you stay calm and try to think in those situations, I think that's better than to be excited."

Soria proved his point again Monday by closing out a 4-3 victory in the series opener. He worked out of a bases-loaded jam with one out in the ninth inning by striking out Ty Wigginton and retiring Miguel Tejada on a grounder to second.

"When he needs to step up a level, he steps his game up," first baseman Billy Butler marveled. "He has that ability that whenever he needs a strikeout, he seems like he can get it."

It was Soria's 10th save of the season in 12 opportunities and eased some recent concerns. He now has a string of three straight scoreless one-inning saves after a stretch in which he allowed four runs and seven hits over 3 1/3 innings in four appearances.

That rough stretch marked only the third time in a 187-game career that Soria allowed runs in three of four appearances. It also boosted his ERA from 1.86 to 4.15; his last three outings lowered it to 3.38.

Soria's next save will make him the 121st pitcher in major-league history to reach 100 in his career. That list includes only 14 other active pitchers."