Rogers’ short start sends Orioles on way to 17-1 loss to Red Sox

BALTIMORE–What happened? Trevor Rogers’ downward slide continued on Saturday as he threw 47 pitches to eight batters in the second inning. Rogers, whose first inning featured three infield ground balls, imploded an inning later.

The 28-year-old left-hander, who was dominant a season ago, gave up three runs on four hits and two walks in the second inning in the Orioles’ 17-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox before 33,582 at Camden Yards.

Boston scored three runs on an RBI double by Caleb Durbin and run-scoring singles by Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ceddanne Rafaela. He was pulled after 1 2/3 innings, the shortest start for the Orioles, and his briefest since a one-inning start on September 17^th, 2022.

Rogers, who had a sparkling ERA of 1.81 in 18 starts last season, now has a 4.75 ERA. He allowed six runs on five hits in five innings last Sunday at Cleveland, and four runs on nine hits in a 4-3 loss to Arizona on April 14^th.

Manager Craig Albernaz pointed to Boston’s four two-strike hits.

“He just couldn’t get the ball where he wanted it to go,” Albernaz said. “A lot of pitches out over the plate … It was just, deep counts, couldn’t get the two-strike put-away where he wanted it to, and the pitch count was just creeping up high that inning.”

The Red Sox (10-17), who broke a four-game losing streak, scored four unearned runs against Albert Suárez in the fourth and fifth. A throwing error by catcher Adley Rutschman in the fourth and a fielding error by second baseman Jeremiah Jackson led to Boston taking a 7-0 lead.

Connor Wong had a three-run double in the fifth.

Boston scored 10 runs in the ninth. Keegan Akin, who was activated off the injured list before the game, gave up six runs, and utility player Weston Wilson allowed four on two home runs.

Andruw Monasterio hit a grand slam against Akin. Wilson surrendered a two-run home run to Durbin and a three-run homer by Willson Contreras in the 10-run ninth.

The Orioles (13-14), who scored a season-high 10 runs on 20 hits on Friday night, were dominated by left-hander Garrett Crochet, who led the majors in strikeouts last season and finished second in Cy Young Award voting. Crochet began the game with a 7.88 ERA, in large part due to allowing 10 runs in 1 2/3 innings at Minnesota on April 13^th.

Crochet (3-3) allowed the Orioles’ only three hits in six innings, a third-inning double by Coby Mayo and sixth-inning singles by Taylor Ward and Rutschman. He struck out seven and walked two.

“He’s one of the best pitchers in the league, and when he’s on, it’s tough,” Albernaz said. “Especially him coming off of a bad outing, I would say, we kind of knew he was going to be locked back in, because that’s just who he is. He’s just tough.”

Leody Taveras’ infield out scored Tyler O’Neill in the eighth for the Orioles’ only run.

What’s wrong with Rogers? Even though he had 7 1/3 innings to cover, Albernaz didn’t want to try to push Rogers any further.

“To be honest with you, I was uncomfortable with him throwing that many pitches or any pitcher throwing that many pitches during an inning,” he said. “I think right when we’re getting around like the upper 30s was when I started to really get uncomfortable.

“I don’t want anyone out there that long. But we had our bullpen, we had Suárez out there who can give us length, and we had other guys that we could use, too, if the game was tight or closer. Felt like it was the right move, especially with Rog or any of our starting pitchers. Make sure we take care of them.”

Rogers (2-3) has three straight losses.

“The luck really isn’t going my way right now,” he said. “I’m doing a really good job of getting guys to two strikes early. The swing-and-miss is there. Just really can’t get over the hump of getting that third strike, and when it is contact, it’s just falling.

“Pretty frustrating, but I liked where my stuff was at today. It’s just frustrating on my end that I can’t really go deep into games right now and give my team a chance. But I’ve just got to stay within my process, stay disciplined in what I need to do and it’ll turn around.”

Rogers was asked when he knew it wasn’t his day. He had a good first inning, but things unraveled quickly in the second.

“I never really look at it as, ‘Oh, it’s not my day today.’” Rogers said. “I always try to keep my head down and compete until Alby takes the ball out of my hand. So, I felt really good going into today. Body feels good. I think my stuff’s in a really good spot. I’m just going to keep working and keep staying disciplined. I know in the long run, this is going to turn around.”

Why was O’Neill on the injured list? O’Neill was activated from the 7-day concussion injury list on Friday and played for the first time since April 8^th.

“It was on an offday and I just had an episode where I collapsed, where I fainted,” O’Neill said. “I don’t remember hitting my head or anything that happened there, but I woke up on the ground and I was experiencing concussion-like symptoms after that, which is very peculiar, so I was just managing that for the last couple of weeks, unfortunately, but came out of it strong.”

What does it mean? The Orioles need Rogers to pitch nearly as well as he did in 2025 for them to contend this season.

What’s the word? “The fastball shape was not where it usually is, the four-seam fastball. But I think other than that, it’s just the execution. Just the two-strike execution and getting to the spots where he needs to get it to, and to me that should be something he’s gonna fix here soon.”–Albernaz on what he saw from Rogers.

What’s the stat of the day? 17. The 17 runs allowed were the most since May 23^rd, 2025 when the Orioles lost 19-5 to the Red Sox in Boston.

What’s going on in the minor leagues? Triple-A Norfolk outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr., the Orioles No. 8 prospect, was placed on the 7-day injured list with left hand discomfort. Bradfield collided with the outfield wall. Right-hander Jose Espada, who was active for Wednesday’s game in Kansas City and sent to Double-A Chesapeake, was placed on the temporary inactive list.

What’s next? Kyle Bradish (1-2, 3.96) will start against Connolly Early (1-1, 2.88) on Sunday at 1:35 p.m.

Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com