ATLANTA -- The resurgence of Trevor Rogers didn’t happen overnight. The 27-year-old spent many days this past offseason pushing thoughts of self-doubt out of his mind. It was difficult for him to deal with the disappointment of letting down the Orioles in 2024.
To some outsiders, it was hard to envision a future Baltimore rotation with Rogers as part of it. Now, it’s much easier to see how the southpaw could become a fixture on the staff.
Rogers continued his impressive comeback tour by tossing 6 2/3 scoreless innings in the Orioles’ 2-1 win over the Braves on Sunday at Truist Park, guiding Baltimore to a sweep of the three-game series in Atlanta. The left-hander cruised for much of the day, yielding four hits and two walks while striking out six.
In five MLB starts this year, Rogers has a 1.57 ERA and an 0.87 WHIP. Three of those outings have been scoreless, as he previously blanked the Red Sox for 6 1/3 innings in his season debut on May 24 and the Rangers for a career-high eight frames on June 23.
“It’s the most confidence I’ve had consistently in a couple years,” Rogers said. “It’s just really fun to just have that simple mindset of really just trying to execute a pitch.”
It’s been quite a turnaround for Rogers, who had a 7.11 ERA in four starts for Baltimore last August after he was acquired from Miami, and then got optioned to Triple-A Norfolk (where he began 2025). He has since returned to his All-Star form from ‘21, when he also finished second in National League Rookie of the Year Award voting.
“It’s been really impressive,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “What a great story. Just thinking about kind of all the grief that he got last year and the trade and everything, and -- not to say that we're through the woods by any means -- but it's just really nice to see some positive news come for him and for the organization on him.”
Rogers again had tremendous swing-and-miss stuff, as he racked up 14 whiffs. He collected a season-high 16 in his previous start Monday at Texas, allowing two runs over 5 1/3 innings.
The most encouraging aspect of Rogers’ latest gem may be the success he had despite a dip in velocity. His four-seam fastball averaged only 92.4 mph (down 1.1 from his season average) and it maxed out at 94.5. His hardest pitch of the day was a 94.9 mph sinker, still below the 95-96 he had been hitting in recent starts.
Yet, Rogers still induced five whiffs with his four-seamer, while also getting great results from his slider (four whiffs on nine swings) and sweeper (three whiffs on four swings).
“I’ve come to the realization if I can live 92, 93, touch of 94 and not do anything to try and get velo to get out of my mechanics, I have trust in my ability to command the ball and mix pitches that 93 becomes 95 when I’m throwing my breaking ball in the zone and my changeup in the zone,” said Rogers, who attributed the lower velo to the 11:36 a.m. ET start. “Sometimes, it’ll be there. Sometimes, it’s not. But as long as I can live with that 92, 93, I’m all for that.”
Baltimore's only runs on Sunday came courtesy of Jackson Holliday’s two-run home run in the third. The 21-year-old went 4-for-4 and finished a triple shy of the cycle while becoming only the fourth O’s player to record multiple four-hit games before turning 22, joining Manny Machado and Hall of Famers Brooks Robinson and Eddie Murray.
It may not have been a huge offensive performance, but it was more than enough with the way Rogers pitched during an 88-pitch outing that featured 60 strikes.
“He’s going right at guys, no matter who they are, and throwing strikes with all of his pitches,” Holliday said. “It’s been really fun to watch and play behind. He’s been pretty dominant.”
The Orioles (40-49) went 4-2 on their road trip through Arlington and Atlanta. The Braves (39-50) may be underperforming -- similar to the O’s -- but their roster features plenty of talented players that made it a challenging matchup.
It also allowed for personal redemption for Rogers, who previously had a 5.57 ERA in nine career starts against the Braves and a 5.28 ERA in six outings at Truist Park.
“Excuse my French, but they’ve beat my ass pretty consistently, and to finally go out and have a good start against that club, it’s really good for me,” Rogers said. “I was able to do my job, and at the end of the day, we won a ballgame.”