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BOSTON – One day after the Orioles scored a dozen runs in a shutout in Houston and celebrated the infusion of young prospect talent and energy on the roster, Jordan Westburg limped off the field and reminded everyone that the 2025 season is a cruel mistress.
Take the good, and there’s much more of it lately, but prepare to get hurt again. It’s a package deal.
Westburg came out of the game with right ankle discomfort, but the Orioles didn’t let it spoil their evening. Trevor Rogers produced another gem with one run in seven innings and the Orioles prevailed 6-3 over the Red Sox at Fenway Park for their fifth win in six games.
Rogers lowered his ERA to 1.41 and WHIP to 0.80 with his 10th quality start in 12 appearances. Gunnar Henderson hit his 15th home run in the third inning to create a three-way tie with Westburg and Jackson Holliday for the team lead, and he added a run-scoring triple in the seventh. Samuel Basallo collected his first major league extra-base hit and added a two-run single in the ninth. Dylan Beavers had his first RBI and reached base four times.
Ryan Mountcastle returned to first base, singled three times and flied to the center field wall at 404 feet and 107.2 mph.
Every combination seems to be working.
The Orioles are 58-67 and punishing opponents in first place or holding Wild Card spots. They just can’t keep everyone on the field.
Holliday drew a leadoff walk in the first and Westburg grounded into a fielder’s choice. Henderson struck out, Mountcastle lined a single into center field and Westburg stumbled as he rounded second base. He scrambled back to the bag and stayed down on his hands and knees as interim manager Tony Mansolino and head athletic trainer Scott Barringer left the dugout to check on him.
Westburg finally got up and tested the ankle, limping the entire time, before the decision was made to remove him. Luis Vázquez pinch-ran and replaced him at third base.
“We’ll know more tomorrow," Mansolino said. "We think it’s probably mild, but we’ll probably wait to see how he wakes up in the morning and we’ll probably have a better idea what it’s going to look like.”
The injury occurred after Westburg went 4-for-5 yesterday with a home run and a career-high five RBIs. He was batting .293/.359/.448 in 15 games this month after slashing .341/.370/.557 with four doubles and five home runs in 21 games in July.
Westburg missed about six weeks with a left hamstring strain. He was day-to-day in June after spraining his left index finger and aggravating the injury by diving into second base. But when he's healthy, he remains one of the top hitters on the team.
Henderson jumped on a first-pitch fastball from Trevor May with two outs in the third and drove it 414 feet to the seats in center field at 108 mph. Cedric Mullins and Ramón Laureano also hit 15 homers with the Orioles, but they were traded at the deadline.
Basallo had a leadoff double in the fourth, the ball bouncing high off the Green Monster. Jeremiah Jackson reached on a roller up the third base line to put runners on the corners with no outs, and Beavers singled on a 3-0 pitch.
The lead grew to 4-0 in the seventh against reliever Jovani Morán when Holliday walked and scored on Henderson’s triple, and Mountcastle singled again. Basallo came up again with two outs in the ninth and lined Jordan Hicks’ 97 mph fastball into center field at 108.3 mph to score Vázquez and Henderson after a wild pitch.
Rogers lost his shutout bid in the bottom of the seventh after Alex Bregman’s leadoff walk, a one-out double by Trevor Story and Jarren Duran’s fly ball to deep left-center, where Colton Cowser made catch on the track. Ceddanne Rafaela struck out on three pitches to leave Rogers at 98.
“This is as impressive a run as we’ve seen in the big leagues this year by any starting pitcher," Mansolino said. "You kind of keep waiting for the other foot to drop, in a sense."
Nate Eaton reached on an infield hit leading off the bottom of the first and Bregman grounded into a double play. Story singled with one out in the second to win a 12-pitch battle, but Rogers induced a couple of ground balls.
Roman Anthony’s leadoff single in the fourth and a passed ball amounted to nothing. Nine in a row were retired before Bregman’s walk in the seventh.
“I’m going to say this as humbly as I can," Rogers said. "I have the confidence to go out there and know what I’m going to do, and just execute my game plan and leave the results out of it. Just execute how I know I can. Couple months ago when I came here, I was like, ‘Oh, man, let’s see how this goes.’ I ended up, like I said before, a lot of unanswered questions were answered. I just continued that stretch and stayed within my process and executed pitches. I finally feel confident and know what I can do every five, six days.”
Basallo caught his first game in the majors and silenced any doubts about his readiness. Rogers gathered his teammates in the clubhouse afterward to praise the organization's No. 1 prospect.
"For an established pitcher in the big leagues who has a (1.41) ERA in front of the team, call out and recognize a rookie catcher for the game that he just called and caught kind of says what he did tonight," Mansolino said.
"I really have to tip my cap to Basallo," Rogers said. "He was really good back there. He was seeing stuff, he was relaying that to Klem (Ryan Klimek) and (Drew) French. First game behind the plate in Fenway and he did a hell of a job.
“He’s been up here for two days but the moment hasn’t sped up on him. I think that’s really impressive. He’s 21 years old and he’s doing this. You know, it’s still early, but he’s doing this as a 21-year-old. It’s super impressive. I’m really glad that he’s up here and he’s really going to help us this last month and a half and going into next year. So, tip my cap to that guy. He’s going to be good for a long time.”
Basallo appreciated the gesture from Rogers but was waiting for a translation.
“I’m not yet sure what he said about me, but knowing that he said something nice definitely means a lot to me," he said via interpreter Brandon Quinones. "Obviously, my first game catching, and with all the good work he’s been doing the last couple months, it feels really nice to hear that.”
The nerves never got to Basallo, even in his second major league game.
“No, not at all today." he said. "I think yesterday felt a lot more stressful. Even with all the excitement and everything going on, I think I felt a lot more comfortable today. Trevor and I had worked together previously, as well, and I think that helped.”
Rogers has allowed only four runs in his last five starts over 35 innings. His 1.41 ERA is the lowest by any Orioles starter through the first 12 games of a season, ahead of Hoyt Wilhelm’s 1.50 in 1959 and Jim Palmer’s 1.69 in 1975.
“I think everything he’s doing now he had been working on at Triple-A," Basallo said. "Obviously, I don’t think he always had the results that he would have wanted, but for him to continue fighting and working on all of those things and get those results now I think is a testament to his work.”
Rogers' two runs or fewer allowed in his last 10 starts ties Milt Pappas in 1964 for the franchise record.
"Nobody knew this was going to come," Mansolino said. "This is ace-type of stuff right now that we're seeing in a short sample. We talked about that last week. Aces do it for three, four years but what he's doing right now is ace-type.
"You know, it's funny. When guys get sent down, you know what, for the right guys it's the right thing sometimes. I think sometimes the industry is terrified to send a guy down, but if you got the right guy that can handle it, I think in a lot of ways it's a really good thing for him. And I don't know if that's why Trevor is doing what he's doing, but I know it's part of the recipe for him and we really like what we have in him right now.”
The rotation has posted a 0.91 in the last eight games and 1.79 in 11. It's 3.06 in the last 29 games, best in the majors.
Dietrich Enns retired the side in order in the eighth and surrendered a leadoff single to Anthony in the ninth. Yennier Cano, who had a career 5.31 ERA in the ninth before tonight, issued a walk and allowed Duran's two-run double with two outs.
