SARASOTA – Adley Rutschman hit two ground balls against Trevor Rogers in live batting practice this afternoon, but at least he put the ball in play.

The Orioles should have made a trophy for the occasion.

Rogers struck out Willie Vasquez, Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad, Weston Wilson and Dylan Beavers in succession in the first “inning.” Rutschman grounded out again in his next at-bat or he singled through the left side, depending on the non-existent official scoring.

Probably a hit. There’s some guesswork involved with no fielders.

Wilson and Kjerstad struck out again and Cowser flied to left field. Rogers faced 10 batters and fanned seven.

“Very deceptive. I wasn’t ready for that,” Cowser said with a chuckle.

“He looked really good. We were joking around out there. I think we had (three) balls put in play. I was happy I was one of them. I’ll take it. Yeah, he looked really good.”

Rogers made his first home appearance at Ed Smith Stadium, and he was dealing.

“Body was in a really good spot,” he said. “The command was probably better than I was thinking. I thought there would be a couple sprays, first time facing hitters in a couple weeks, so I was really happy with my command and just the way the ball was moving today.”

Rogers raised the bar last summer with his 1.81 ERA and 0.903 WHIP in 18 starts. And he’s having a normal camp after reporting last year with a knee injury.

“I think that if he picks up where he left off, we’re gonna be in really good shape,” Cowser said. “Even if he’s a slightly-below average part from where he was last year, we’re gonna be in really good shape. I’m looking forward to him having a full year and putting up many innings under his belt and kind of being a workhorse for us, as well as the other guys.”

Rutschman can claim victory on a day when the bar was lowered for hitters. His bat was much louder yesterday with a double to the base of the left-center fence and a home run.

“The biggest impression for me is the work he’s put in in the offseason, he’s still diligent to it and staying with it in live BPs,” said manager Craig Albernaz. “And that’s the biggest thing as hitters is, where you make an adjustment in the offseason and it’s either tee work, front toss, BP, it’s easy to stay with it, but then, once you get to live pitching, especially against our guys, you might feel like you need to change something. But Adley’s staying true to what he’s been working on all offseason.

“He’s been working with our hitting coaches. He just looks really efficient in the box and his swings. He’s under control, he’s balanced. Not the follow-through because the follow-through to me doesn’t matter, right? But as he’s going throughout his swing, he’s just in a great athletic spot right now. To me, he looks great right now, and with him, he knows that he’s still got to continue to work.”

Kjerstad hit a home run yesterday that easily cleared the center field fence and the 400-foot mark. The sound still reverberates.

The tweaking with Kjerstad includes eliminating the leg kick in his stance. His right foot barely leaves the dirt. But he’s also healthy again.

Nothing else would matter without it.

“Right now, he looks like he’s physically in a great spot,” Albernaz said. “You can tell he’s put a ton of work in this offseason. And to me he’s just moving so efficiently in the box, and that’s the beauty of baseball. The game’s gonna dictate what you need to adjust and change.

“I’ve seen him when he first came in, ‘24, and he had the bigger leg kick and load, and he still did well. But also, the game’s gonna dictate what you need to change, and he’s kind of, I wouldn’t say made some moves smaller, but he’s just made everything more efficient, and it’s gonna allow him to have a better at-bat quality, spit on tough pitches, and also it’s gonna allow that whippings to work in his swing. We saw that (Friday). He looks great so far.”

Albernaz knows the backstory, how Kjerstad was diagnosed with the heart condition myocarditis after the 2020 draft and strained his hamstring after cleared to play. And how Kjerstad suffered a concussion in July 2024 and was shut down last summer with fatigue.

“Any guy that gets injured you feel for and sympathize for,” Albernaz said. “That’s why this game is tough. We play every day and the wear and tear on your body is real, so you feel for everyone. You want everyone to be healthy, right? For the fans and the game of baseball, you want all the best players to be healthy out in the field. That’s the best product. And especially with someone of his caliber and the talent he has.

“But he’s learning, he’s still young and it’s still relatively young in his career, so all these little speed bumps that he’s had, he’s just gonna be better for it and he’s gonna continue to grow.”

Utility player Blaze Alexander has reported to camp.

Leody Taveras might set the record for most camp numbers before reporting. He’s gone from 40 to 67 to 30.