BALTIMORE—Orioles left-handed starter Trevor Rogers will miss two starts because of the flu, manager Craig Albernaz said Thursday before Game 1 of an Orioles-Astros doubleheader. Rogers was assigned to the 15-day injured list on Wednesday, retroactive to Monday.
“He has the flu,” Albernaz said. “And it’s hitting him pretty hard. It’s been going through our clubhouse. [Utility player] Weston Wilson had it a couple of days ago. We kept him home. We kept Rog home. The unfortunate timing of it because he’s starting tomorrow.
“Throwing up, all that good stuff. It’s tougher to do that and go pitch and start in a big league. Obviously he wanted to, but sometimes you have to be the adult in the room and look out for the player. There can be no benefit for Rog to try to push through it because he doesn’t have his strength back yet.”
Rogers is 2-3 with a 4.75 ERA in six starts.
“We want to make sure that he gets rehydrated, gets his strength back. Whenever the [IL] stint is over, he’ll be ready to go,” Albernaz said.
In Rogers’ previous start, he allowed three runs on four hits in 1 2/3 innings in Saturday’s 17-1 loss to Boston.
“It’ll probably be a nice little reset for him, I would imagine, but I think, ‘let’s get over the grind of being sick first,’” Albernaz said.
Right-handed reliever Jose Espada was added as the 27th player. The Orioles have 10 relievers for the doubleheader since Cameron Foster was recalled when Rogers was placed on the injured list.
Orioles-Astros lineups for Game 1:
Orioles
Gunnar Henderson-DH
Taylor Ward-LF
Adley Rutschman-C
Pete Alonso-1B
Dylan Beavers-RF
Jeremiah Jackson-2B
Colton Cowser-CF
Coby Mayo-3B
Blaze Alexander-SS
Chris Bassitt-RHP
Astros
Carlos Correa-SS
Yordan Alvarez-LF
Isaac Paredes-3B
Christian Walker-1B
Jose Altuve-2B
Yainer Diaz-DH
Brice Matthews-CF
Dustin Harris-LF
Christian Vazquez-C
Peter Lambert-RHP
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