-1745819772711.png){kind=logo}
SAN FRANCISCO – Trevor Rogers looked human on the mound this afternoon, but just for a brief moment.
The Giants’ Willy Adames barreled a fastball and deposited it into the left-center field seats with two outs in the first inning. Rogers spun part way to track it and bent at the waist. Only the third homer hit against him in 14 starts and the first since July 20 in Tampa.
As if it mattered. He calmly went back to work and the Orioles went on a power trip.
Jeremiah Jackson and Ryan Mountcastle homered in the third, Samuel Basallo belted his first in the majors, and the Orioles defeated the Giants 11-1 before an announced crowd of 37,711 at Oracle Park.
The Orioles (61-75) won for only the second time in 10 games. The Giants’ winning streak was snapped at six.
Rogers allowed one run and five hits in seven innings, didn’t walk a batter and improved his record to 8-2 with a 1.39 ERA. He’s the first Orioles starter to complete the seventh in four consecutive starts since Chris Tillman in 2016. He’s surrendered one run in each of his last six starts totaling 42 innings after shutting out the Rockies on one hit over seven innings July 26.
This isn’t normal pitching behavior.
"Didn’t mess around, didn’t nibble, didn’t try to save runs in a sense of overlooking for a swing and miss," said interim manager Tony Mansolino. "He just attacked the zone, and for me, that’s what frontline guys do.”
Basallo ambushed reliever Tristan Beck leading off the fourth, launching a curveball to left-center field. Twenty-three different Orioles have homered this season to set the franchise record.
"It was amazing," he said. "I've been working for that my whole life. It's like when a dream come true, and you just feel amazing. Like, I don't have words to explain how I feel right now, but it was good to get the first one.
"I've been hitting the ball well. So it was just, like, you just need time to come, and I just was trying to hit the ball hard every time and thank God I got it today."
It could have happened sooner for Basallo except Astros right fielder Jesús Sánchez robbed him in his debut with a leaping catch at the fence. Heliot Ramos tried to do the same and came close, pounding his fist in his glove after missing it. Basallo slowed as he reached second base.
"I just think like, 'Not again, please,'" he said, grinning. "But yeah, thank God I got the first one, and I hope many more to come."
Basallo, 21, is the youngest catcher to homer in franchise history, breaking Andy Etchebarren’s record set in 1965. He did it in his 11th game. Afterward, he was able to get the ball from the fan who caught it in exchange for a signed bat and ball. He's giving it to his father.
"I feel like he’s hit a few balls that probably should have gotten out," Mansolino said. "What Sammy did today, I told him, ‘Man, you had an aggressive day and a patient day all in one.’ It doesn’t have to be one or the other. We don’t have to go up there and take every pitch, and we don’t have to go up there and swing at every pitch. So good hitters, they know when to be aggressive, they know how to be patient. He did both.
"Called a one-runner, too, there behind the dish. Put down the right fingers and press the right buttons. To me that’s probably a bigger deal at this point in his career than hitting the homer in some ways, though I know it’s a milestone and a big one. Showing he can catch right now. That’s really impressive.”
Said Basallo: "That's good because I've been working on my defense. To see that happening against a really good team, that means a lot. That's the work we, everybody do here in the game. Yeah, that's great."
Jackson Holliday walked and Jackson reached on an error to begin the top of the first, but a fielder’s choice and double play killed the rally. Colton Cowser had a leadoff double in the second, broke for third base with one out on Coby Mayo’s ground ball to short and was thrown out.
The Orioles were less wasteful in the third. Daniel Johnson drew a leadoff walk and Jackson hit his second home run, going 390 feet to left-center field. Gunnar Henderson singled and Mountcastle stayed hot by launching a sinker 434 feet to center at 110 mph.
Mountcastle had a pair of RBI doubles and a two-run single last night in a 15-8 loss, and he gave the Orioles a 4-1 lead today. He also doubled and is batting .328 (21-for-64) in 16 games since Aug. 13.
Carson Seymour made his first major league start after 10 relief appearances and departed after three innings. Beck was summoned and heard some boos after Basallo took him deep, Johnson singled and scored on Holliday’s triple, and Henderson lifted a sacrifice fly to right.
Rogers struck out Rafael Devers and Adames back-to-back in the third after giving up a pair of one-out singles. Luis Matos and Andrew Knizner singled with one out in the fifth and were stranded. Rogers retired the last eight Giants.
"Sammy did another good job back there tonight, we were both working off each other really well," Rogers said. "That was huge for us today, you know just adjusting the game plan as the game progressed."
Rogers said he called about 60 percent of the pitches, mostly early in the count, to assist the rookie.
“Yeah, when Basallo is back there I try to take some stress off him just so it’s not all him,” Rogers said. “We had a really good plan in place and then middle of the count, late in the counts, he did a really good job reading swings and stuff like that.”
The Orioles led 8-1 in the seventh after Mountcastle doubled with one out and scored on Dylan Beavers’ single. Jackson had a two-run double in the eighth to give him a career-high four RBIs and is batting .330 with an .852 OPS. He scored on a wild pitch.
“Seems like the counts are getting deeper, too," Mansolino said. "He’s swinging the bat. He’s getting deeper in the count, which I like. We can’t have nine guys in the lineup swinging at the first pitch and let starters get into the seventh and the eighth. We can’t do it. Counts are getting deeper, shown some patience. There’s some power in there. He’s been interesting. We’ve seen him play third base. He’ll be out there again tomorrow, see what he can do on back-to-back days, which is not easy to do in the big leagues. Exciting, yeah.”
Rookie infielder Christian Koss pitched the ninth for San Francisco, fans cheering his mid-40s lobs, and he retired the side in order. He’s logged four scoreless innings in four appearances.
* Reliever Vinny Nittoli opted out of his minor league deal with the Orioles and became a free agent. Nittoli didn’t make it back to the majors after signing last month.
* The Astros signed Matt Bowman to a minor league deal after the Orioles released him earlier today.
* Jorge Mateo played center field for Triple-A Norfolk and had three more hits. He’s batting .341 with an .820 OPS.
Double-A Chesapeake’s Juaron Watts-Brown allowed two runs and one hit in six innings with one walk and seven strikeouts. Carter Baumler tossed another scoreless inning.
Aberdeen’s Nate George hit his first High-A home run.
Catcher Ike Irish had a two-run single for Class A Delmarva.
