With another brilliant start last night, Rogers helped the Orioles snap a losing streak.
Hello, friends.
If the Orioles could find a way to have Trevor Rogers pitch every game, maybe this team would have gotten somewhere this year. He did it again last night, dominating the Giants as the Orioles snapped their losing streak with an 11-1 win. It doesn’t quite make up for all of the dumb and bad not-Rogers stuff we’ve seen lately, but still it’s nice to see it happen. Check out Alex Church’s recap of the game for more of the lovely totals.
Last night’s win was #61 for the 2025 Orioles. They just need two more to officially get themselves out of possibly ending up with 100+ losses. Obviously, that’s a pretty crappy goal to set, but after the last week or so, it will be good to rally enough to clear that milestone and avoid the complete tailspin. It will help if other pitchers than Rogers actually put together some good games along the way as well.
Improvement from batters who will be around next year who’ve been struggling in August also will be key. There were good things in last night’s game on this front as well, with multi-hit games from Gunnar Henderson and Dylan Beavers, as well as Samuel Basallo hitting his first major league homer. Jeremiah Jackson had a multi-hit game too. I didn’t list him with the others because he’s not someone we spent a lot of time thinking about until the last six weeks or so, but you know, if he’s going to keep hitting like that, the Orioles should find a way to keep him around in a reserve role for next year.
There will have to be a lot of improvement over the offseason. Hopefully, Mike Elias feels the same and takes action to make it happen. They are going to need to build up most of a bullpen, should probably fortify at least 40% of a rotation, and probably need to find the one magic veteran batter that does mysterious clubhouse things that fans never know about and unlocks the true potential of every other player. Not much can be done about any of that from now until the end of the regular season. Kyle Bradish having a positive remainder of the season after his Tommy John surgery return would be one more nice thing to carry forward.
The Orioles and Giants will close out their three-game set this afternoon with a 4:05 start time. It’s going to be a veteran vs. veteran starting pitching matchup, with Tomoyuki Sugano and Justin Verlander set to start the game. As bad as Friday’s loss was, the Orioles could still come out of San Francisco with a series win if they can find a way to win today.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
Why Samuel Basallo decided now was the right time to sign an extension (The Baltimore Banner)
Hear from the catcher himself about what made him become the first Oriole in the Mike Elias era to sign a big contract extension.
Trevor Rogers isn’t a fluke. Just ask the hitters he’s faced. (The Baltimore Sun)
I want so badly to believe that Rogers is going to be able to do this again next year, when it will hopefully matter a lot more for the Orioles fortunes in the standings.
Family at the forefront of Ripken’s 30th anniversary of 2,131 (Orioles.com)
It seems that we’re getting a dose of former Orioles minor leaguer Ryan Ripken on the occasion of the anniversary of his father’s signature accomplishment.
How much candy is in a major league dugout? (FanGraphs)
A small Orioles shout-out in this article, in which it is noted that they apparently have the biggest bucket of Hi-Chew in their dugout of any MLB team.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Today in 2007, the Orioles traded Steve Trachsel to the Cubs for Scott Moore and Rocky Cherry, a trade that would probably not be remembered at all if not for the name of Rocky Cherry.
There are a number of former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: Baltimore-born (and second-generation Oriole) 2012-15 pitcher Steve Johnson, 2010 pitcher Armando Gabino, 2014 one-game pitcher Ramón Ramírez, 2001-04 outfielder Tim Raines Jr., 1995 three-game pitcher Mike Hartley, 1971 pitcher Tom Dukes, and Baseball Hall of Famer, 1966-71 outfielder, and 1988-91 manager Frank Robinson.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your non-Orioles birthday buddies for today include: educator Maria Montessori (1870), violinist Itzhak Perlman (1945), actor Richard Gere (1949), and actor/comedian Chris Tucker (1971).
On this day in history…
In 1422, England’s Henry V died while in France. Despite not being on the Oregon Trail, he died of dysentery. Henry’s son, less than a year old, became Henry VI upon his father’s death.
In 1895, Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin received a patent for a navigable balloon that eventually bore his family name.
In 1997, Diana, the Princess of Wales, was one of three people killed in a car accident in Paris.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on August 31. Have a safe Sunday. Go O’s!
Category: General Sports
