Orioles drop series to Guardians after 8-4 loss as Rogers struggles again

(Nick Cammett/Getty Images North America/TNS)

CLEVELAND — From the time he made his 2025 debut in May, Baltimore Orioles left-hander Trevor Rogers was one of MLB’s best starting pitchers, ending the season with a 1.81 ERA.

In 18 starts en route to earning a Cy Young Award vote, Rogers allowed more than three runs only one time — in his final outing of the season.

He’s now done so in back-to-back starts.

Rogers on Sunday struggled for the second time in a row, allowing six runs (five earned) in five innings as the Orioles fell to the Guardians, 8-4, to drop the four-game series. Baltimore and Cleveland split the first two games of the series — the second of which featured an impressive Orioles comeback thanks to Jeremiah Jackson— but the Guardians took the final two games.

Rogers, the Orioles’ No. 1 starter, opened the season with three straight quality starts and a 1.89 ERA. But he gave up four runs and couldn’t make it through five innings Tuesday in the Orioles’ loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Rogers gave up one run in the third inning that scored in part because of his error when he missed the bag with his foot while covering first base. He then gave up four runs in the fourth on a José Ramírez solo homer, a Juan Brito two-run double and a Brayan Rocchio RBI single. Ramírez, a future Hall of Famer, homered again in the fifth for the sixth and final run off Rogers.

Including his poor start Sunday, Rogers has allowed 10 runs over his past 9 2/3 innings. The southpaw’s ERA is now 4.08 — more than double what it was last season.

The Orioles’ offense started slow again, failing to score in the first three innings for the fourth straight contest. Through 22 contests, Baltimore has scored only 17 runs in the first third of games while hitting .179.