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With each passing start, Trevor Rogers offers further confirmation that what he’s doing isn’t a fluke. He isn’t going to fall apart at the baseball seams. This is how he pitches.
He can't control the bullpen, which stumbled again, but he can put his trust in a young hitter to make the mishap irrelevant.
Rogers completed seven innings again tonight and allowed only one run, and Jackson Holliday doubled with two outs in the ninth to score Dylan Carlson and give the Orioles their first walk-off win, 4-3, over the Mariners before an announced crowd of 17,290 at Camden Yards.
Carlson, who had two hits after ending an 0-for-35 slump last night, singled off Matt Brash with two outs and raced home on Holliday's first career walk-off. The Orioles were the last team in the majors to get one, and it came from Holliday, who was 5-for-41 this month before pulling a slider down the right field line.
"I knew he had a really good slider," said Holliday, who almost had his jersey torn off by teammates during the celebration. "Honestly, just trying to hit another line drive, hit a barrel. But I was kind of looking for that pitch and just trying to get it in a good spot to do something with and was able to do that.
"It was really fun. I don't think I've experienced anything like that, maybe besides hitting the first home run. It's pretty exciting. I'm glad I was able to share it with these guys and finally get that first walk-off hit for the team. Hopefully, we can continue to play really good baseball and go on a run here."
Ryan Mountcastle came within a few feet of a walk-off homer last night, the ball hooking foul. The Orioles wouldn't be denied tonight, and it began with Carlson's first multi-hit game since June 22 in New York.
“D.C. had been struggling," said interim manager Tony Mansolino. "I don’t think I had realized he had the 0-fer prior to the off-day that we gave him. He swung the bat good coming out of the two days and hit some balls hard, had some really tough luck. Two outs, kind of get it going right there. And Jackson, who feels like he’s fighting for his life at the plate right now, but he’s not. He’s just doing what you’re supposed to do, struggle a little bit at times.
"It’s impressive to be frustrated and then in the biggest moment come up big and knock in the winning run. So a lot of maturity by Jackson, and awesome for D.C. to kind of hang in there.”
The Orioles led 3-1 in the top of the ninth, but Yennier Cano was charged with two runs as Seattle rallied. Keegan Akin inherited a runner on third base with one out, and Mitch Garver's sacrifice fly tied the score.
Mountcastle led off the bottom of the seventh against Logan Gilbert with a game-tying home run to center field that snapped the Orioles’ scoreless streak at 17 innings. Coby Mayo singled, reliever Gabe Speier entered, and pinch-hitter Jeremiah Jackson tripled to right field. Jackson stopped at third base and raced home on first baseman Josh Naylor’s throwing error on the relay to the plate.
A dormant offense finally came to life.
"He’s swung the bat pretty good here," Mansolino said of Jackson. "For a minor league free agent, just kind of did OK in Double-A, gets promoted to Triple-A. Maybe the promotion was out of necessity, maybe he earned it. I don’t know. Looking at the Double-A numbers, they weren’t the Triple-A numbers. He does what he does in Triple-A, comes here. It’s been interesting. He’s going to play tomorrow against a righty."
Rogers was denied a sixth win but his ERA dropped to 1.43 in 11 starts. He’s allowed one run or fewer in eight.
"Like I’ve said in the past, just staying within my process and staying with what’s been working within these five days," he said. "Just really not trying to change too much. Working on small things in bullpens in between starts, some small things I need to clean up. But I really like where I’m at, and I’m just really not trying to do too much and just continue to keep doing what I’m doing."
“From that Boston outing until now," Mansolino said, "he’s been one of the best in the game."
The Mariners had won eight in a row and 10 of 11.
Rogers carried a shutout into the seventh, but Julio Rodríguez led off with a standup triple and scored with one out on Naylor’s 100 mph ground ball past Holliday, who was playing in and couldn’t make the backhand stop. The Orioles lost 1-0 last night and trailed by the same score tonight, but Mountcastle hit his fourth homer and second in five games since his reinstatement from the injured list.
"I mean, that's tough," Holliday said of the grounder. "Whenever you're in, a guy like that hits the ball really hard and you know he's going to put it in play. I wish I would've gotten my glove on it, but it's a tough play and one that I'll keep working on and hopefully make every other time."
Rodríguez’s triple came after Rogers retired 12 in a row and 18 of 20. Rogers allowed four hits, walked none and struck out six. He came out after 95 pitches.
"Has he pitched like an ace? Absolutely, but an ace does it for a longer stretch of time," Mansolino said. "Does he have the potential to do that? Absolutely. I really hope so, for us, and for him.”
Left-hander Dietrich Enns struck out two and stranded a runner in the eighth, but Cano was handed the ninth and got into immediate trouble with a single and walk. The Mariners executed a double steal, and Rodríguez scored on Naylor's grounder.
Cano had a career 4.89 ERA in the ninth inning before tonight.
"We’ve got to try to figure out how to get the ninth inning solved," Mansolino said. "That’s two of them now here the last few days, and the one that we tied up in Chicago, too. Other guys will get opportunities. It’s a great opportunity for the guys who get thrown in there. At some point they’ve just got to kind of grab it and go.
"There’s a contingent in baseball that thinks the ninth inning is just another inning and anybody can close. I’m gonna say I disagree. I think it’s a very unique inning and it changes emotions and feelings and all the things that kind of go into the things that great closers have. It’s a different inning and guys are gonna have to learn to pitch in it.”
The game started after a 1-hour, 40-minute rain delay. Rogers tried to make up some of the time by throwing six pitches in a two-minute first inning.
Rogers struck out Eugenio Suárez in the fourth on three fastballs and Naylor on a 78.3 mph sweeper that followed an 87.7 mph changeup. Rogers also threw three sinkers and a slider during the at-bat.
Rogers went sinker, sweeper, changeup, sinker to get a called third strike on J.P. Crawford to end the fifth. He also retired the side in order in the sixth, with catcher Cal Raleigh flying to the track in left field to barely miss his 46th home run.
The Orioles totaled 17 hits in the previous four games and only two going into the seventh.
Mountcastle singled in the second and Gunnar Henderson doubled in the fourth. Mountcastle walked with two outs and Ryan Noda took a called third strike, which he disputed with plate umpire Jansen Visconti. Noda tossed his helmet and bat but didn’t get ejected.
Jordan Westburg walked with one out in the sixth, but Henderson lined to center and Adley Rutschman grounded out.
The game turned a few times, landing in the Orioles' favor. Their five hits in the seventh were the most since Game 1 of a July 29 doubleheader against Toronto.
"It's been tough," Holliday said. "I think what makes it even tougher is playing good teams. We've played some pretty good teams with some really good pitching staffs. It's been tough, it's part of the game. We've got to adjust. The guys in this clubhouse, we've got to go out and compete every night and do our best to win. It's obviously a different scenario than you dream up, but with our circumstance, we've got to compete."
"That’s just baseball," Rogers said. "That’s a rollercoaster of a game, and they tie it up, you’re like, ‘Oh man,’ you could go one of two ways, like, ‘Oh, here we go again,’ or you could keep fighting. That’s what this team does. We keep fighting for each other and we go until the last out, so I was really happy to see us pull it out there."
* The Astros are starting left-hander Framber Valdez and right-handers Jason Alexander and Cristian Javier against the Orioles in the weekend series in Houston.
* Trey Gibson made his first Triple-A start and tossed five scoreless innings in Jacksonville, with one hit, no walks and six strikeouts. He threw 53 pitches, 40 strikes.
José Barrero hit his seventh home run.
Creed Willems homered twice for Double-A Chesapeake. Zach Fruit allowed four runs and two hits with eight walks in 3 1/3 innings.
Class A Delmarva catcher Caden Bodine came off the bench and had a single and double.
