Trevor Rogers strikes out 10 in tough-luck loss

Rogers departed after just 55 pitches, costing him an easy win in a 7-1 game, but he had no complaints after the game. He’ll take a 10-11 record and a 4.03 ERA into free agency this winter. His final 20 starts produced a 2.90 ERA and a 119/21 K/BB in 121 innings.

Outside of an RBI single from Andres Giménez in the second inning, Rogers was in control until he melted down by surrendering back-to-back-to-back homers to George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Kazuma Okamoto in the fifth inning. The southpaw struck out five and walked just one in the loss. This was the second time since the end of July that Rogers had allowed more than three earned runs. The impending free agent will attempt to rebound in an interesting assignment against the Brewers next time out.

Rogers allowed six hits and walked none. He has an exceptional 69/6 K/BB in 61 innings since the All-Star break, though his 3.54 ERA doesn’t quite match up with his peripherals. He’ll take on the Blue Jays on Saturday or Sunday.

Rogers struck out a career-high 11 without walking anyone, rewarding fantasy managers who rolled the dice on him in Coors. He fanned six in a row at one point and has pitched to around a 3.00 ERA since the beginning of June after a challenging first couple of months. He was always going to regress from the 1.81 ERA he registered a season ago, and while he’s at 4.30 for the year, the in-season turnaround has been nice to see. An impending free agent, he’s now up to a career-best 144 1/3 innings. He draws the Guardians at home next time out.

Rogers had good velocity today, struck out seven and allowed just four hard-hit balls, but the first six batters to reach against him all scored on a three-run homer in the second, a two-run homer in the fourth and an RBI single in the fifth. It’s the first time in 17 starts since May 18 that he’s allowed more than four earned runs. He should still be fine to use in Colorado next week.

Rogers made it through the first inning without any trouble, but in the second inning, a leadoff double by Junior Caminero was followed by an RBI single by Chandler Simpson to tie the game at 1-1. That was just the beginning of a rough inning for Rogers, who would allow a two-run homer to rookie Kenny Piper two batters later to put the Rays up 3-1. Rogers would settle in after that, as he would go on to pitch five straight scoreless innings to hold the Rays in check before exiting after the seventh inning with a 5-3 lead. It was the exact kind of start the Orioles needed from Rogers, who has now allowed three earned runs or fewer in his last four starts. Rogers next start is scheduled for Thursday on the road against the Cardinals.

Rogers punched out six batters on the afternoon while allowing only one base on balls. He served up a solo homer to Ryan Vilade in the fourth inning and allowed an RBI single to Jorge Mateo in the sixth, but that was the extent of the damage done against him. The 28-year-old southpaw got 16 swings and misses on 98 pitches in the ballgame, posting a strong CSW of 33 percent. He’ll look to keep the good times rolling as he carries a 4.15 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and a 108/35 K/BB ratio (125 2/3 innings) into a rematch against the Rays on Friday.

Rogers’ velocity was up across the board as he averaged 95.2 mph on his fastball and topped out at 97.4 mph, his fastest pitch of the entire season. He wasn’t the most efficient in this outing, needing 79 pitches to complete four frames. He gave up four hits, including a solo homer to Austin Martin. He finished with four strikeouts, but also issued two walks and hit a pair of batters. He’ll close out a two-start week with a road matchup against the Rays on Sunday.

Rogers gave up three hits, walked none and struck out nine. He improved to 7-7 with the win. Rogers is now 5-1 with a 2.32 ERA since June 1 (11 starts). He has a 4.20 ERA this season. Rogers is lined up to face the Twins on the road next week.

The Orioles are unclear about whether they truly want to trade away players at the deadline because, despite being three games under .500, they are just 2.5 games out of a playoff spot. The expiring contracts include Taylor Ward, Trevor Rogers and Andrew Kittredge, but the Orioles are also listening to offers for Adley Rutschman, who is under team control for one more season. While it remains unclear what the Orioles will do, Rosenthal believes that “Ward and Rogers, even as rentals, could fetch sizable returns,” so they remain the two most likely to be moved. If anybody moves at all.