BOSTON–What happened? By the time Trevor Rogers took the mound for the Orioles, he had a six-run lead to work with. The 28-year-old left-hander was impressive in protecting that lead, and the Orioles decisively beat the Boston Red Sox, 8-2, before 33,180 at Fenway Park on Thursday.
The Orioles (30-33) won two of three in Boston and fly to Toronto to play a team that they’re fighting with for a the wild-card spot.
Twelve Orioles batted in the first. Adley Rutschman, Leody Taveras and Taylor Ward had RBI singles, and Coby Mayo had a three-run double against Brayan Bello (2-6)
After an 0-for-14 slide, Ward had his second straight three-hit game.
Bello pitched through the fifth, when he allowed two more runs on Samuel Basallo’s RBI double and a sacrifice fly by Colton Cowser to give the Orioles an 8-0 lead.
“It was a great job by our offense coming out ready from pitch one,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “Obviously, Wardy setting the tone. It was a great job grinding out at-bats, getting good pitches to hit, running the bases aggressively, but to give any starter, but Rog a six-run cushion before he steps on the mound.”
After a six-game losing streak, Rogers (3-6) pitched well for the second straight game. Last Friday, Rogers pitched six scoreless innings, allowing only two hits before giving up a pair of two-run home runs in the seventh in a game the Orioles lost to Toronto, 6-5.
Rogers didn’t allow a hit until Andruw Monasterio doubled with two outs in the fifth. He isn’t used to having such a big lead so early.
“It was really fun,” Rogers said. “Those first couple of warmup pitches, you know, I had to let them eat a couple just to get warmed up as quickly as I could. This win was offense, man. They jumped on it right away, one through nine they were hot. They made my job pretty easy today.”
Boston (26-35) scored in the sixth on Willson Contreras’ RBI single, and Yennier Cano replaced Rogers, who allowed one run on five hits in 5 2/3 innings. Cano retired Isiah Kiner-Falefa on a forceout.
Tyler Wells pitched a spotless seventh. Keegan Akin allowed a hit in a scoreless eighth, and Contreras homered against Andrew Kittredge in the ninth.
How did Rogers feel? Rogers thinks his slump is over.
“I think I found the pace in my delivery that’s consistent,” Rogers said. “I kind of caught myself trying to speed up too much, so really just, I wouldn’t say going down an extra gear, but really just focus on a big deep breath between each pitch and making sure my pace throughout my delivery is consistent throughout the game.
“I think I found myself facing a tough spot, quickening up my delivery, and that affects my command. So if I know that my tempo, my pace is in a good spot, then that translates down the mound.”
Rogers has a 1.44 ERA in four starts at Fenway Park.
“I was thinking that all through the outing,” Rogers said. “I don’t know what it is, it’s just the sight seems really good for me. They seem really close for whatever reason. I just love pitching here and it’s worked out. At the end of the day, I’m just glad I got the boys a W.”
The Orioles’ rotation continues to pitch well as Rogers fell one out short of a quality start.
“We kind of put our heads down after we weren’t pitching the way we wanted to pitch earlier, he said. “We knew it was only a matter of time, that it was going to turn around for this group. It’s the most talented group I’ve ever been a part of. I know that once we were able to start doing our jobs consistently and we were giving our offense a chance to win.”
How is Ward feeling? Ward became the first Oriole to produce two hits in the first inning on the road since Jerry Hairston Jr. on September 24th, 2003 in Boston. The six runs tied for their biggest inning of the season. They last scored six in the sixth inning on April 22nd at Kansas City.
“I think it’s huge,” Ward said. “Of course, whenever you can jump out to a big lead like that, it’s great. I think it helps our starter that day, as well. Hopefully today was the start of something.”
After his slump, Ward had Monday’s offday to get things right.
“On the off day, just decompress and reset,” Ward said. “But then also, I used that day to really work on things I was going to take into the cage the next day. I know the first game here didn’t go the way I wanted, but still, stuck with it, still have been working on it, and I’ll continue that and take it into Toronto.”
What does it mean? The Orioles won another series. They haven’t lost a series since they were swept at Tampa Bay from May 18th-20th. They’ve won nine of 13 since then.
What’s the stat of the day? 6. Entering the game, the Orioles scored 24 runs in the first inning. They scored six, one-quarter of that number in the first.
What’s the word? “I think during this stretch, we’ve been playing the baseball we should’ve been playing all year.”-Ward on the Orioles’ recent play.
What’s next? The Orioles will open a three-game series in Toronto on Friday night at 7:07. Brandon Young (3-1, 3.35) will start for the Orioles. The Blue Jays have yet to name their starter.
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