Trevor Rogers pitches 7 shutout innings and Orioles barely hang on to beat Dodgers 3-2

LOS ANGELES — Blaze Alexander called it fun, but his reaction to the ninth inning might not have translated to Orioles fans. The here-we-go-again ninth at Dodger Stadium was full of sweat-inducing baseball, just one night after Los Angeles walked off as victors in a game Baltimore should’ve won.

“I know it got fun there at the end, but we came through,” said the ever-smiling Alexander, who exudes positive vibes even in the most stressful moments.

“I was having fun,” Alexander said. “I don’t know. You’re in Dodger Stadium. It’s loud. Just hit me the ball; I want to make a play. That’s what I was thinking. I was enjoying it.”

The Orioles can afford to exhale after Saturday night’s 3-2 victory against the Dodgers, but there won’t be many occasions in which a team grants the opposition five outs in the ninth inning and gets away with it. That’s what Baltimore did and the Orioles lived to tell the tale, but it was a second straight night of hairy play late.

“We won the game,” manager Craig Albernaz said when asked to evaluate his team’s defense in the ninth. “3-2 win, we’ll take it.”

In Friday’s loss, Los Angeles scored three runs against right-hander Ryan Helsley and the winning run crossed because of an error.

In Saturday’s narrow victory, which began with seven superb innings from left-hander Trevor Rogers, two more defensive missteps occurred (only one was ruled an error). The tension began when Shohei Ohtani clobbered a solo homer against right-hander Andrew Kittredge. After a diving catch from Taylor Ward and a one-out walk, Albernaz turned to right-hander Yennier Cano for the final two outs. He might’ve gotten them with one swing.

Instead, the hard ground ball from Mookie Betts clipped Coby Mayo’s glove at third base, ruling out a double play. Mayo corralled the ball quickly, but his throw was late to first. The official scorer ruled it a single.

And then, with two outs, another misplay occurred. Tommy Edman hit a low line drive to right field. Leody Taveras dropped it, bringing home a second run.

That should’ve been the final out. It instead came down to Kyle Tucker, whom Cano struck out to preserve a victory that was much too close for comfort.

“You can’t get frustrated there,” Cano said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “That’s my defense playing behind me. They have some moments like that. It’s going to happen, but at the same time, there’s been times where they rob a home run or they make an excellent defensive play out there. It’s part of the game. It happens, but I’m happy to have those guys back there.”

Before that mess of a ninth inning, Rogers pitched his best outing of the season, outdueling right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Between Rogers’ opening day start — seven scoreless innings against the Minnesota Twins — and Saturday’s gem against the Dodgers, he struggled to match the miracles of 2025. He ended May with a 6.84 ERA. But since June began Rogers has looked much improved, and what he did Saturday was the best of the bunch.

In seven scoreless innings, Rogers established his fastball command and velocity early. He rode that pitch and benefited from timely cutters to carve up Los Angeles. Rogers also got early run support against Yamamoto, a feat that few teams have managed. Then Rogers and catcher Samuel Basallo did the rest.

“We just clicked,” Rogers said of his battery mate. “I don’t know what it is. We just have good chemistry when he’s back behind the plate. I trust him 100%, and he had a good feel of the zone with the challenges. Just to see that from a 21-year-old, it’s real impressive. He’s hitting .250, .260, and he’s getting really competitive at-bats for us. It’s really awesome to see him grow as a baseball player and as a human being, and hopefully he’s my catcher for a while.”

Rogers retired 20 of the 23 batters he faced, and the only hit against him was a bloop single from Edman with two outs in the fifth. His four-seam fastball hummed in 1.4 mph faster than usual this season, which helped draw seven whiffs. And Rogers’ cutter induced four whiffs on four swings.

At times this season Rogers has struggled with command, and because he’s not generally a pitcher who relies upon swings and misses, the contact can lead to a spiral. Rogers drew plenty of whiffs Saturday, though, and the contact hung in the air long enough for Baltimore’s outfielders.

“It was probably the best fastball performance of the year so far,” Rogers said. “We were just riding it, and it continued to perform really well.”

Yamamoto entered Saturday on a streak of five games with one run or fewer against him. In his last game, a win against the Chicago White Sox, he conceded one hit — a solo homer — in 8 1/3 innings.

It has been this sort of road trip, with a slew of imposing starters for the Orioles to face. But Baltimore broke through Friday against Roki Sasaki before a late collapse, and the Orioles managed more offense against Yamamoto than most teams.

Consecutive singles from Taveras and Colton Cowser in the second inning set up runners on the corners for Mayo, and his ground-ball fielder’s choice plated Taveras. Two innings later, Alexander — Baltimore’s hottest hitter — delivered with the bases loaded.

Basallo and Taveras began the fourth with base knocks, and after Basallo was thrown out at third when Cowser’s sacrifice bunt attempt went right back to Yamamoto, Mayo walked to load the bases. With two outs, Alexander rifled a ground ball down the left field line for a two-run double.

“I capped it, didn’t hit it very hard, but right placement and two RBIs got us going,” Alexander said. “And, the way Trev was throwing, that’s about all we needed there.”

Yamamoto hadn’t allowed three runs since May 12, but the Orioles chased the ace relatively early, by his standards. Los Angeles turned the game over to the bullpen after six innings.

Then came the ninth inning, which almost resulted in another disaster. The Orioles avoided this one, though, and that allowed Alexander to smile in the clubhouse and talk about how baseball is still fun — even at this level, where results are magnified.

“It’s probably my favorite place to play,” Alexander said. “I’ve had some big moments here, but it’s Dodger Stadium. It’s kind of a mecca. This, Yankee Stadium, Camden is up there. Any time you play here, I’m fired up. Woke up today and knew I was in the lineup, and I was fired up, ready to come and compete with the boys, and just wanted to get a win.”

Note

Infielder Jackson Holliday left the game in the eighth inning with groin tightness. Albernaz said the Orioles removed him to ensure “this thing doesn’t get too serious.”

This article has been updated.