Trevor Rogers, still an Oriole, pitches them to a 5-2 win over Angels

The Orioles have the next two months or so to prove Monday’s trade deadline sell-off and their playoff push aren’t mutually exclusive. The players, coaches and front office have publicly maintained they can compete for the playoffs anyway.

If they ultimately make the postseason, they’ll need more scenes like Wednesday night in their 5-2 victory over the Angels: Trevor Rogers walking off the mound in the seventh inning to a standing ovation at Camden Yards and tipping his cap to the fans.

That frame didn’t end how he or the Orioles would’ve hoped. Rogers’ final batter reached on an infield single and scored when Alex Hoppe, making his Orioles debut, allowed the inherited runner to score.

Still, Rogers’ performance, combined with three home runs, was enough to earn a series win. With back-to-back wins after the trade deadline, Baltimore is 56-58 and half a game behind in the race for the final wild-card spot in the American League.

“The fact that I can contribute and help my team win, and we’re right there in the playoff push these last few months, that’s what baseball is all about,” Rogers said. “That’s what we think of when spring training rolls around, is meaningful baseball in the back end of the year. I’m ready for it, and I’m fired up for it.”

Rogers pitched better than his stat line indicated. He struck out a season-high nine batters over six-plus innings and allowed just three hits: a second-inning Travis D’Arnaud single that bounced off second base, a Jose Siri sixth-inning solo homer and the Nolan Schanuel infield single that ended his outing.

“Love having Rog,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “He was outstanding tonight. He’s been doing it for a long time now.”

Rogers is a free agent after season’s end. He’ll have a strong market as a lefty with a productive track record over the last two seasons.

He’d been adamant in recent weeks that he wants to stay in Baltimore. But naturally, with the Orioles on the outside of the playoff picture, Rogers was viewed as a strong potential trade candidate ahead of Monday’s MLB deadline.

On Monday, Rogers waited for a call. He was shocked that Adley Rutschman was dealt to the Red Sox. He was with Tyler Wells and his family when the reliever was traded to Tampa Bay. That move made him believe he’d be going, too. But he never got the call.

One day later, Rogers said he felt confident the Orioles could make a run to the playoffs. Why? The team’s rotation was still intact.

Two days later, he set the tone for what he expects from himself and his counterparts to keep their momentum going.

It wasn’t anything new for Rogers — he had pitched to a 2.21 ERA over the span of 10 starts entering Wednesday. But this presented a slight twist — it was his first start with Carlos Narváez catching.

Narváez met with pitching coach Drew French, pitching strategy coach Ryan Klimek and assistant pitching coach Mitch Plassmeyer before the game to talk through Rogers’ repertoire. Then, Narváez said, Rogers came to their meeting with his own notes, helping to make the transition easier.

“He was dealing,” Narváez said. “Trying to mix locations, trying to mix pitch shapes. But, yeah, he was amazing. He got nasty stuff. He just needs to execute. He did it tonight. It was fun to be behind the plate for him.”

Rogers’ velocity was up across the board, and it was apparent as Angels hitters swung through his fastballs early and often. He threw 50 pitches through three innings but was efficient over the next three.

When Rogers is at his best, he uses his fastball to set up everything else — including his changeup or his backdoor sweeper that got five whiffs on five swings. On Wednesday, he got 12 called strikes with his fastball, used the pitch to get ahead of hitters and also got four strikeouts with it.

The Angels put only nine balls in play; the average exit velocity was 82.3, meaning they didn’t make hard contact. Rogers cruised until Siri’s homer.

For the third straight outing, Rogers didn’t walk a batter.

“I hate walks more than anything,” Rogers said. “So, yeah, I’m really pleased with how I’m throwing the ball right now and commanding the strike zone.”

The Angels countered with Reid Detmers, their own lefty who was a highly coveted name at the trade deadline but has two more years of control before free agency. Detmers held the Orioles to one hit through the first three innings.

But Tyler O’Neill, who has finally looked like the old version of himself in recent games, launched a two-run homer. He entered Wednesday’s game batting .304 with a 1.086 OPS since July. Coby Mayo, who mashes lefties, hit his 16th of the year and 11th against a southpaw.

The Angels inched their way back, but Leody Taveras’ two-run blast in the eighth helped to ensure the Orioles would finish what Rogers started.

“That was a huge two runs for us to give us a little more cushion going into the ninth inning,” Albernaz said. “Leody is such a great pro, such a great teammate, so it was great to see him come through for us.”

This article has been updated.