This day smells of optimism. Breathe it in around the ballpark. Intermingled with the hot dogs and burgers is an aroma so distinct it can only be whiffed on opening day — a new beginning, with everything still in front of the Orioles.

At Camden Yards on Thursday afternoon, that optimism took the form of a clubhouse so loose that players dueled in shuffleboard and the manager shot a mini basketball at a small hoop in his office before the game. And, while the Orioles made their fans wait to erupt until later in the game, much went right during their 2-1 win against the Minnesota Twins.

It is one win in one game. But, when smelling that intoxicating perfume that is optimism, each inning from left-hander Trevor Rogers allowed the imagination to run wild. What will this season have in store? The announced 42,134 fans could afford to think creatively after a 2025 season that left many sore.

Rogers was masterful, and right-handers Tyler Wells and Ryan Helsley closed out the victory. The sudden flourish of offense in the seventh inning put Rogers in line for the opening day victory after his seven scoreless frames. And, once Craig Albernaz reached the clubhouse with a 1-0 record as a major league manager, Wells approached with a question.

“How big of a vibes guy are you?” Wells inquired.

“I’m always down for the boys,” the manager replied.

So the Orioles threw Albernaz in a laundry cart and pushed him into the showers, dousing him in beer as they went.

“He wore it. He took it like a champ,” right-hander Shane Baz said.

“A lot of beer,” third baseman Coby Mayo said.

“That’s just a great way to set the tone for the year,” Baz continued.

What Rogers did set an equally strong tone.

In this day and age, pitching wins hardly matter. They are an imperfect measure of how a hurler performs, and it has as much to do with an offense’s performance as a pitcher’s display. But, when it comes on opening day, it’s just another feather in the cap of an ace who has experienced as many lows as highs in his limited time here.

Rogers lasted four starts in 2024 after the Orioles acquired him in a trade with the Miami Marlins. He was optioned to the minors for the rest of the season. But, by the time Rogers arrived in 2025, the southpaw was a different pitcher.

And Thursday’s seven shutout innings are only a continuation of his best. Rogers lowered an already stellar ERA over nine career starts at Camden Yards to 1.53.

“Just an opening day win for all the guys in general,” Rogers said. “We put the work in for six weeks in spring training, and finally get the dub on opening day, you kind of forget we have 161 more after today. It’s huge.”

The last year for Rogers has been nothing short of mesmerizing, and it goes to show there is such a thing as a second first impression.

Rogers’ Camden Yards debut in 2024? Five runs in five innings. His first appearance at Camden Yards in 2025? No runs in eight innings. And his first appearance at Camden Yards in 2026? Seven scoreless frames.

If there was any doubt about Rogers’ ability as a pitcher, the fact he wasn’t at his best yet still worked around the baserunners he put on proves his mettle. The Twins had runners in scoring position in the second, third, fourth and sixth innings against Rogers, whose four walks were part of the issue. But he held Minnesota to 1-for-11 hitting with runners in scoring position.

“He’s a bulldog, man,” outfielder Tyler O’Neill said. “Really awesome to see him clutch up out there and post seven innings.”

“That’s what an ace does,” Albernaz said. “He got himself into a little bit of traffic, a little bit of a hairy situation, but he got himself out of it with the ground ball.”

Rogers received help from Mayo twice — the double plays Mayo started in the third and fourth were part of tightrope escapes. And, after a leadoff walk in the seventh, Rogers nullified it with another of his eight ground ball outs.

Rogers used his changeup to good effect against Minnesota’s right-handed lineup. The Twins were looking for that pitch, Rogers knew, but its movement “helps with the ground ball rate.”

This is what great pitchers do. They have a knack for sidestepping danger. And, even though Minnesota’s lineup is far from predatory, Rogers set the groundwork for Baltimore’s shutout.

“Him doing stuff like that all year is going to be huge, not only for the bullpen but for the hitters and other starters to feed off each other,” said Helsley, who struck out three batters in the ninth.

With Twins starter Joe Ryan out of the game, the bats awoke in the bottom of the seventh inning. Designated hitter Samuel Basallo’s single started a rally. Basallo ran first to third on O’Neill’s single and scored when Colton Cowser lifted a sacrifice fly to left field.

Albernaz said Basallo’s baserunning “changed the complexion of the game.” Basallo, through team interpreter Brandon Quinones, said “from there on after, the bats woke up a little bit. I really do feel like that moment right there changed the game.”

Two batters later, Blaze Alexander’s two-out single scored O’Neill and the Orioles had all the run support this pitching staff needed.

Upon Helsley’s final out, Camden Yards erupted.

Who can say what follows this day? There are 161 more games — and potentially the postseason if those go well — for ups and downs to materialize. But on this day optimism rules.

This article has been updated.