NEW YORK – The exit interview for Orioles left-hander Trevor Rogers won’t mimic what he heard last fall. He won’t need a new plan to get stronger physically and mentally. The conversation will be much simpler.

“I think just rub him on the back,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said earlier today, “and tell him, ‘Please do it again next year.’”

Left unspoken will be the need to avoid what happened tonight, a beating totally out of character from the 2025 version of Rogers.

The Yankees hit three home runs off Rogers in three innings, matching his entire season total, in an 8-4 victory over the Orioles before an announced crowd of 44,596. Giancarlo Stanton had a pair of two-run shots after two at-bats and Aaron Judge clubbed his 52^nd.

The three homers tied Rogers’ career high. The last time it happened was May 20, 2022 against the Braves.

"Really, stuff just wasn’t crisp tonight," he said. "Tried to rear back and give it a little something extra, and just the life wasn’t there tonight. Just one of those nights. Got to tip your cap. It’s really, really difficult to face a team twice back-to-back starts, and they made a good adjustment. There were some calls that just didn’t go my way, and they made really good swings on bad pitches on my part. Just tip your cap. Not the way I wanted the season to end, but use it as motivation for the offseason."

Rogers hadn’t allowed more than two runs in 16 of his 17 starts before tonight. The Rays scored three on June 18 in Tampa in his second appearance.

"He's been unbelievable," said Gunnar Henderson. "It happens, but that doesn't take away from just the incredible season that he's had. It's been unreal playing behind him. He's throwing the ball exceptionally well. So yeah, it's just it's hard to describe because just the way his story was when he got traded over here to then being able to put up a season like this, that's just hats off to him and just the mental strength that he has to be able to go out there and do that. I look forward to him being back here next year and just continuing this, because he's a dog."

Mansolino went to his bullpen after Rogers threw 52 pitches in three innings and finished the season with a 1.81 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and .180 opponents’ average.

“Just didn’t have his best stuff tonight, strangely," Mansolino said. "Out of all the starts, it kind of turned out to be the last one where the best stuff didn’t show up right there. The way they were handling him, being as good as he’s been for us all year, we didn’t feel like we wanted to kind of expose him to more of that at this point. He’s just been so good and we felt like it was wise to pull him right there and kind of take care of him. Felt like it was the right thing to do." 

Jordan Westburg lined a two-strike sweeper into the first row of left field seats in the third inning for a three-run homer that gave Rogers the lead, but the Yankees responded in the bottom half with two-run homers from Judge and Stanton.

Rogers walked Cody Bellinger with two outs in the first and got ahead of Stanton 0-2 before a four-seam fastball left the bat at 108.8 mph and landed in the right field seats. Stanton paused at the plate to admire it. Rogers spun toward third base and refused to watch.

What he accomplished this year opened a lot of eyes.

"I’ve come a long way in this organization, and I’ve said it a thousand times, very thankful for everything that happened," he said. "If this is going to be my worst one, then so be it. I’ve had a really good stretch since I’ve been up here and helping this team win as best I can. Unfortunately, I didn’t do that tonight, but a lot of really good takeaways this year."

Yankees rookie Will Warren made a similar 0-2 mistake to Westburg after Coby Mayo reached on an infield hit with two outs and Jackson Holliday walked. Westburg’s 16^th home run tied him with Henderson and Colton Cowser for second-most on the club behind Jackson Holliday’s 17.

Henderson singled and stole his 30^th base, becoming the youngest Oriole to reach that mark. Don Baylor set the record in 1973.

"Felt like it's just a matter of getting out there, get comfortable," he said. "Felt like just being free to, I guess, have the green light is a big thing and just being able to go and kind of find a good pitch and feel comfortable out there.

"I feel like it's always been, like through the minor leagues, it's been a part of my game. It was just a matter of being able to get out there and, I guess, fail aggressively to then learn from it and get better at it each and every game. I feel like that's something that I've taken to heart and something that I feel like can be a part of my game."

José Caballero drew a four-pitch walk leading off the bottom of the third, with only three of the pitches missing the strike zone. Umpire CB Bucknor was working the plate and his usual magic. Judge’s homer with one out sailed 423 feet at 109.7 mph. Cody Bellinger walked and Stanton destroyed a first-pitch changeup, driving it 451 feet to center field at 112.2 mph.

This time, Rogers had to peek, with hands on hips.

Warren was pulled after Tyler O’Neill led off the sixth inning with his first home run since Aug. 4, the gap largely due to injury. The Yankees’ lead was down to 6-4, but they manufactured a run in the bottom half on three singles against Yennier Cano, the last by Austin Wells. They loaded the bases twice in the seventh and settled for one run.

O'Neill has nine home runs and three stops on the injured list.

"I just want to show up and take pride in what I do, take pride in my work," he said. "Show up, work really hard, be a good teammate, and whatever happens during the game happens during the game. For me, it’s been an unfortunate season. Just kind of the way it is. I’ve been feeling like I’m playing behind a little bit, getting back into a rhythm. Just overall, with the stops and goes and injuries and stuff, just happy to be here and be around these guys and to be playing ball again.

“It hasn’t been easy. Very stop and go. Tough to get into a rhythm. Just when I felt like I was having it a couple months ago, obviously freak accident happened. Obviously, like I said, I’m just happy to be back and I’m just focused on the day by day and trying to be around these guys and be a good teammate.”

Dylan Beavers fouled a ball off his leg in the fourth inning and exited with right shin discomfort. He went from walk-off homer to moving with a limp.

“He went and got X-rays, negative," Mansolino said. "It’s a contusion. I’m gonna pencil him into the lineup tomorrow and we’ll kind of see how he feels in the morning and see where it goes.”

This wasn’t going to be the Orioles’ night, and it lowered their record 75-85.

The last starts of 2025 belong to Tomoyuki Sugano and Kyle Bradish. Rogers’ work is done, and he operated at a high level.

Tonight was a minor regression in a season filled with major accomplishments.

“Somewhat historic in some ways," Mansolino said. "And kind of how he bounced back from last year and the performance this year, a really good story in a season full of maybe not some of the best stories at certain times. So he was definitely a guy for us that we could rally around and he was a player for the city of Baltimore that they could rally around in a lot of ways, and gave us a lot of good vibes and gave the city a lot of good vibes and definitely somebody that is a very bright part of the future here.”

And his plan for over the winter?

“I think it’s a rinse and repeat," Mansolino said, "and hopefully he does the same next year.”