The Orioles led by two runs early and had their ace on the mound. That’s usually a winning hand.

Instead, they were dealt a 4-3 loss to the Diamondbacks at Camden Yards.

Their record is 9-8, with six wins in their last eight games.

Here are some observations from tonight:

*Heavy traffic caught up to Trevor Rogers.

The lefty allowed a two-out single and threw a wild pitch in the first inning, but Geraldo Perdomo slid past third base and was tagged. Samuel Basallo was slow to retrieve the ball but got away with it.

A single, double play and single were followed by a strikeout in the second. Jose Barrosa doubled with one out in the third and was stranded. An infield single, stolen base and wild pitch created more clutter in the fourth, but Rogers escaped the jam.

The Diamondbacks flattened him in the fifth.

Former Orioles catcher James McCann received a standing ovation before his first at-bat, which he acknowledged by stepping out of the box and raising his helmet. He led off the fifth with a single, Barrosa walked with one out and Ildemaro Vargas homered to left field for a 3-2 lead.

Vargas lifted a sweeper over the left field fence, just far enough for the first homer allowed by Rogers this season.

Perdomo singled with two outs and stole second, and he scored on Jose Fernandez’s double off the center field fence.

Rogers lasted only 4 2/3 innings and was charged with four runs and nine hits, which tied his career high. He walked one and struck out six, and he was finished after 99 pitches.

*Jeremiah Jackson doesn’t need to keep apologizing to manager Craig Albernaz.

He just has to keep hitting.

Jackson’s line drive last night slammed into the right side of Albernaz’s face, causing at least seven fractures in the cheek area and busting his jaw. Jackson went into Albernaz’s office to check on him. They hugged in the dugout after Jackson’s grand slam an inning later.

Albernaz returned to the bench tonight and stood in his usual spot. Jackson played his usual position as the starting second baseman. And he had a single and double by the fourth inning, making him 5-for-5 since the incident.

The streak ended with Jackson’s groundout in the seventh.

The Orioles loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth, bringing Jackson to the plate again and the crowd – announced at 13,524 – to its feet. The Diamondbacks countered with right-hander Ryan Thompson, and Jackson grounded back to the mound on the first pitch, a sinker in the middle of the plate.

*Samuel Basallo has sick power.

When he squares up a ball, he can take the cover off it.

Basallo hit his third home run tonight and it was a monstrous shot, a 431-footer to center field against Merrill Kelly leading off the second. Clocked at 109.3 mph off the bat, it gave the Orioles a 1-0 lead.

Batting with a runner on base in the eighth, Basallo grounded a single to the opposite field at … get this … 109.3 mph.

Basallo was erased on a force at second, with Perdomo botching a chance at a double play on Dylan Beavers’ grounder. Leody Taveras singled with two outs to score Pete Alonso and reduce the lead to 4-3.

*Rico Garcia and Yennier Cano have something else in common.

They’re more than relievers and teammates. They also share a record.

Garcia appeared in back-to-back games for the third time this season, and he retired all four batters faced after replacing Rogers.

Strikeout, strikeout, routine ground ball and routine fly ball. Thirteen pitches, 10 strikes.

The first batter he faced, Nolan Arenado, struck out on three sliders to strand a couple of runners.

Garcia hasn’t allowed a run or hit in his first nine outings to tie Cano’s franchise record set in 2023. He’s walked three batters and struck out 10 in nine innings.

Major League Baseball won’t credit him with a no-hitter, but he deserves some sort of recognition.

*The ‘pen was mightier.

Garcia was followed by left-hander Grant Wolfram, who retired all four of his batters and struck out the last three.

Wolfram fell behind 3-0 to Corbin Carroll and got two called strikes and a swinging strike – the last on a slider. He struck out Perdomo, who was 3-for-3 before the at-bat, on a 95.9 mph sinker. Vargas fanned on a curveball.

Cano retired both of his batters in the eighth, striking out Fernandez with his slider, and he struck out Luken Baker on a splitter leading off the ninth before coming out of the game. His ERA is 1.69.

Left-hander Nick Raquet, in his second Orioles appearance, survived a single and hit batter, but only because Colton Cowser charged Vargas’ fly ball in shallow right field and made a sensational diving catch. Raquet’s ERA was lowered from 27.00 to 16.20.