CLEVELAND–What happened? Trevor Rogers’ first game with the Orioles was a forgettable one. Two days after he was traded from the Miami Marlins, the 26-year-old left-hander allowed five runs on six hits in 4 1/3 innings in the Orioles’ 10-3 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday night.
The loss drops the Orioles into a first-place tie with the New York Yankees.
But there was good news after the game. The Orioles, who called up top prospect Jackson Holliday in time for Wednesday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays, have called up top third base prospect Coby Mayo from Triple-A Norfolk.
Mayo had four hits in Norfolk’s 18-10 win over Charlotte Thursday night before being removed from the game. Mayo is MLB Pipeline’s 15th-ranked player and is the Orioles’ third-leading prospect; catcher Samuel Basallo is second. News of Mayo’s recall was first reported by MASNsports.com and confirmed by multiple industry sources.
The Orioles lost third baseman Jordan Westburg on Wednesday when his right hand was broken when he was hit by a pitch. Holliday followed with a grand slam, and Westburg left the game after scoring. Mayo is expected to replace Westburg at third.
He not only joins Holliday but a number of new players the Orioles acquired before the trade deadline on Tuesday. One of those players is Rogers.
On Thursday night, he allowed two runs in the first on a sacrifice fly by José Ramírez and an RBI single by Josh Naylor. He gave up a three-run home run to David Fry in the third.
“He gave up a couple there in the first and then just a bad fastball to Fry for a three-run homer, 3-2 count,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “I guess he was trying to go in, just left it right in the middle of the plate, made it 5-1 kind of right away. So that was tough to, we didn’t come back from that offensively. Didn’t swing the bat really well and wasn’t our best game on the mound.”
Cleveland scored five more runs in the seventh on a two-run home run by Ramírez against Albert Suárez and a three-run homer by Bo Naylor off Jacob Webb.
Anthony Santander hit his 32nd home run for the Orioles, and Colton Cowser extended his hitting streak to 14 games, the longest by an Orioles rookie since Trey Mancini from September 11th-29th, 2017.
What did Rogers think about his performance? It can’t be easy for a player to walk into a clubhouse, meet his new catcher and then go to work with new teammates.
“It was definitely a whirlwind today, something that I really haven’t been through before,” Rogers said. “I’m not going to sit here and make excuses. Still got to execute the game plan, and really didn’t give my team a chance today.
Hyde thought he worked well with Rutschman, and so did Rogers.
“We pretty much shook hands, introduced each other, and he said, ‘I got you tonight.’ I’m like, ‘All right, let’s get after it.’ We kind of talked a little bit in the pregame meeting, so we’ll definitely build it from here on out.”
Rogers hasn’t played with any of the Orioles before, but he’ll get used to them.
“It’s a little different, but they’re my teammates now,” he said. “So you’ve got to just do a better job of keeping us in the game. They’re a good team. We faced them down in Miami, and they’re just a solid ballclub all year. I’ve just got to do a better job at keeping us in the game early.”
Rogers goes from the Marlins, a last place team, to the Orioles, who are fighting for the American League East title.
“Man, it’s awesome. I’ll always miss the guys down in Miami; I’ve got some good friends down there,” he said. “But just coming to this organization right in the dog days of August, playing some really fun baseball the last two months, it’s something that I really haven’t been able to be a part of, being hurt all last year. So I’m just fired up to be here and really looking forward to the last two months.”
The five runs Rogers gave up were the most he’s allowed since May 4th when he allowed eight to Oakland.
“I think just finally being comfortable and really just getting comfortable with my pitches, knowing where to go,” he said. “I was just really throwing the ball well and actually making pitches. So I’m fortunate to get this one out of the way and get my feet underneath me and go out and compete my next time out.”
What did Rogers think about the trade? The Orioles were looking for pitching, but Rogers’ name wasn’t one that was often mentioned as a trade candidate.
“I heard rumblings, probably early on I didn’t think I was going anywhere,” he said. “I started throwing the ball really well consistently, and with [Jesús] Luzardo going down for a while, I knew there was hope for me to get traded.
“I heard some rumblings and it happened on the last day, and I’m very thankful that the Orioles saw something in me and brought me over here.”
Who are the new Orioles? Three of the four new Orioles played. Besides Rogers, Designated hitter Eloy Jiménez struck out as a pinch-hitter and outfielder Austin Slater singled as a pinch-hitter. Infielder Liván Soto didn’t play. Gregory Soto, who is no relation to Liván, hasn’t pitched in either of the games he’s been in uniform for.
Jiménez, who came from the Chicago White Sox, joked that the toughest part of coming to a new team on the road was: “I have to take the plane by myself.”
Though Hyde doesn’t think Jiménez will play much outfield, he would like to.
“I like to play in the outfield because I feel more in the game,” he said.
Slater, who came from the Cincinnati Reds, said he’s excited to play on a winning team.
“I’m here to contribute as much as I can and hopefully bang some lefties around a little bit,” he said. “Play some good defense, run the bases and help you guys get some wins.”
Gregory Soto came to the Orioles on Tuesday from Philadelphia in exchange for minor league starter Seth Johnson. He pitched against the Orioles on June 15th, and it was a memorable experience.
“I remember facing [Gunnar] Henderson and during one at-bat, and I threw it high and inside, and I thought after that, maybe they wouldn’t want me here,” Soto joked through an interpreter. “But I’m really excited for this opportunity.”
Liván Soto was with the Orioles briefly in spring training before he was lost on waivers to the Los Angeles Angels and was claimed again by the Orioles in April and quickly lost again to the Reds.
“It’s difficult with everything that’s gone on this year,” Soto said through an interpreter.
He did become familiar with the team during his brief time in Sarasota.
“I got to meet most of the guys who are here now,” he said. “I remember it being a really good environment, family-like atmosphere, really excited to be here now and get to share this locker room with everyone.”
Who are the draft picks signed? The Orioles signed each of their 21 draft picks and 10 undrafted free agents. Besides first-round pick Vance Honeycutt, who signed on Thursday and the previously reported signings of Prospect Promotion Incentive pick shortstop Griff O’Ferrall and second round pick catcher Ethan Anderson, both from the University of Virginia, the signees are: Austin Overn (centerfielder, USC, 3rd round), Chase Allsup (right-handed pitcher, Auburn, 4th round), Ryan Stafford (catcher, Cal Poly, 5th round), DJ Layton (shortstop, Charlotte Christian High, 6th round), Carson Dorsey (left-handed pitcher, Florida State, 7th round), Colin Tuft (catcher, Tulane, 8th round), Jack Crowder (right-handed pitcher, Illinois, 9th round), Christian Rodriguez (right-handed pitcher, Cal State Fullerton, 10th round), Sebastian Gongora (left-handed pitcher, Louisville, 11th round), Andrew Tess (catcher, Calvary Christian High, Florida 12th round), Brandon Downer (right-handed pitcher, California Baptist, 13th round), Cohen Achen (right-handed pitcher, Lindsay Willson College, 14th round), Carter Rusted (right-handed pitcher, Missouri, 15th round), Nate George (outfielder, Minooka Community High, 16th round), Iziah Salinas (left-handed pitcher, Cowley County CC, Kansas, 17th round), Michael Caldon (right-handed pitcher, Felician College, 18th round), Braylon Whitaker (outfielder, Cox Mill High, North Carolina, 19th round, Evan Yates (right-handed pitcher, Cal State Fullerton 20th round.)’
The undrafted free agents are Ryan Cabarcas (left-handed pitcher, Florida International), Joe Glassey (right-handed pitcher, Illinois), Christian Herberholz (right-handed pitcher, Auburn), Kenny Leiner (right-handed pitcher Limestone College), Chipper Menard (left-handed pitcher, University of Louisiana, Monroe), Steven Ondina (shortstop, Arizona State), Alex Ramos (right-handed pitcher, Goshen Central High, New York), Jacob Stretch (right-handed pitcher, Virginia Tech, Trent Turzenski (right-handed pitcher, Valparaiso) and Ben Vespi (right-handed pitcher, University of Central Florida). Vespi is the brother of Norfolk left-hander Nick Vespi.
What does the postseason schedule look like? If the Orioles are a wild-card team, they’ll play a best-of-3 series on October 1st, October 2nd and, if necessary, October 3rd. The American League Division Series begins on October 5th with Game 2 on October 7th. Game 3 is October 9th, and, if necessary, Games 4 and 5 are October 10th and 12th.
The American League Championship Series will begin on October 14th. Games 2, 3 and 4 are October 15th, 17th and 18th. Games 5, 6 and 7, if necessary, are October 19th, 21st and 22nd.
The World Series begins on October 25th with Games 2, 3 and 4 on October 26th, 28th and 29th. If Games 5, 6 and 7 are necessary, they’ll be played on October 30th, November 1st and November 2nd.
What’s the word? “You never have enough pitching. You never have enough players.”-Hyde on roster makeup
What does it mean? Rogers will get many more opportunities for the Orioles, but he’ll have to be better than he showed in his first game.
What’s the stat of the day? 1.114. Cowser’s OPS during his hitting streak is 1.114. He’s batting .385 with four home runs and 13 RBIs.
What’s going on in the minor leagues? Centerfielder Daniel Johnson drove in six runs with a pair of three-run homers in Triple-A Norfolk’s 18-10 win over Charlotte.
What’s next: Dean Kremer (4-7, 4.20) will face Carlos Carrasco (3-9, 5.68) on Friday night at 7:10.
Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: [email protected]