Orioles waste Rogers’ sterling start, lose to Rockies in 11, 6-5

DENVER—The Orioles’ trip to Coors Field ended in the most painful way possible when, after taking a two-run lead in the top of the 11^th, reliever Grant Wolfram allowed three runs in the bottom of the inning for a 6-5 loss before 15,616 on Wednesday.

Brett Sullivan’s two-run single was the game-winner.

After Colton Cowser saved Monday night’s win with a wonderful catch, the Orioles lost the final two games of the nine-game road trip.

Though a 6-3 record on a three-city trip is usually something to be happy about, there wasn’t any reason to be happy after the game.

The Orioles won two of three in St. Louis, swept three games against the Athletics and lost two of three here. They entered the game trailing Cleveland by 1 ½ games for the final wild-card spot and return home on Thursday to play four games against Boston and three against the Guardians.

“Leads are never safe here, and this one hurts,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “It’s tough, but it was a good road trip for us. We’re pumped to get back home, get in front of our fans. Ultimately, good road trips right now, they’re OK, but not good enough. When we have the lead, we have to close it out.”

Samuel Basallo and Blaze Alexander had RBI singles in the 11th against Blas Castaño (1-1).

Wolfram (6-3) gave up an RBI single to TJ Rumfield and the two-out, two-run single to Sullivan.

The Orioles (69-71) scored just nine runs in the three games against Colorado (54-86), which had lost 10 straight games at home before Tuesday.

“Kind of had them on the ropes,” Alexander said. “Definitely a series we should have won. But, hey, man, get to go back home. We’ve got two really big series, Boston and Cleveland. And, yeah, man, we’re going to show up and give our best.”

Though Cowser’s play will be long remembered, he was one of many whose offense lagged in this series. He was hitless in five at-bats and is 0-for-19. Gunnar Henderson was 1-for-12 and Pete Alonso was 2-for-10.

Alonso had an RBI single and Luis Robert Jr., in his first game with the Orioles, had a two-run double in the third to give the Orioles a 3-2 lead.

How good was Rogers? Another negative to the disheartening loss was wasting a dominant performance from Trevor Rogers, who set a career high with 11 strikeouts without walking a batter.

Rogers allowed two runs on six hits in 6 2/3 innings.

“He was efficient,” Albernaz said. “He did a great job of navigating that lineup and it was almost like he was getting stronger as he was going a little bit. It was one of Rogers’ better outings.”

Adael Amador singled to lead off the third, and after Rogers struck out Ryan Ritter and Ezequiel Tovar, Jake McCarthy tripled to center. After Alexander’s relay throw to third base was wild, Rogers, who was backing up the play, threw home, and after a replay challenge, McCarthy was called out.

Cole Carrigg’s single scored Hunter Goodman in the fourth to cut the Orioles lead to 3-2.

Rogers then struck out seven of eight hitters until Carrigg singled in the seventh.

“To be honest, I had no idea that I struck that many people out in a row,” Rogers said. “Some of the guys told me and I had no idea. I was just locked in on pitch to pitch and making my pitches. So, I think it just falls back to execution, and I did a really good job of that today.”

Alexander was disappointed that the Orioles couldn’t win the game for Rogers.

“Rog was unbelievable,” he said. “I was at second base, I had a really good view of it, and it was just like, dude, I think I made a comment it was like MLB The Show.

“He was facing Ryan Ritter right there and he went changeup down, and then went changeup and got the foul ball off it. And then, I heard in the PitchCom, it was like sinker away. Just the way those pitches blended, it was a perfect pitch. It was literally like it was a video game, really.”

What happened to Kittredge? Kittredge was fortunate to record his ninth save thanks to Cowser’s game-saving catch on Monday, and he nearly had his 10^th.

With two outs and a 3-2 lead, the Rockies tied it in the bottom of the ninth on two-out doubles by Carrigg and pinch-hitter Zac Veen.

“Pitching in Colorado is tough, and also, we’ve been using him a lot, which is a good thing,” Albernaz said. “It means we’re ahead in games late in games. Kitt, he gave up some loud contact, but also, I thought his stuff looked pretty good today.

“Just to me, that one mistake was to Veen. He executes his slider where he needs to, who knows what might happen? But the slider just popped out of his hand and it was a good pitch to hit.”

What happened with Holliday? Jackson Holliday was one of the few strong offensive performers for the Orioles in this series. He was 5-for-11 in the last two games, but he dropped a popup before a two-run homer on Tuesday and on Wednesday made a bad baserunning mistake in the 10^th. As the automatic runner, Holliday broke for third on Alonso’s grounder to short and was tagged out.

“He was just trying to do too much there,” Albernaz said. “He said he knew right away when he broke where the shortstop was, and he was just being aggressive. He knew it right away, right as he came into the dugout, he knew he messed up and we talked through it. He was trying to make something happen, but ultimately, you’ve got to stay put and get the other guys a chance to drive you in.”

What does it mean? The Orioles need a dominant homestand against two very tough teams.

What’s the stat of the day? 5. It was Kittredge’s fifth blown save in 14 chances.

What’s the word? “We didn’t get the job done today. Should have won the game. We didn’t. Very frustrated. We’re all frustrated right now, but we got to flush it as soon and quick as we can. We got some really important ballgames. We got, I don’t know, 25 days left. We got to flush this one, as frustrating as it is, and continue to play good baseball because we’re not out of it.”–Rogers on the loss.

What’s going on in the minor leagues? Triple-A Norfolk left-hander Nick Raquet was released by the Orioles after he cleared waivers. …High-A Frederick utilityman R.J. Austin had his hamate bone removed from his left wrist this week by Dr. Doug Carlan in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Orioles say the operation was successful.

What’s next? The Orioles will open a four-game series with the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night. Brandon Young (9-3, 3.38) will start against Jake Bennett (9-6, 3.27). The game, which will start at 7:15, will be shown exclusively on FOX. Kenny Albert and A.J. Pierzynski have the call.

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