What happened? Jackson Holliday, whose name could be called as an All-Star reserve at 5 p.m. on ESPN, had four hits, including a two-run homer, and Trevor Rogers, who is pitching like an All-Star, led to the Orioles to a 2-1 win over the Atlanta Braves Sunday and three-game series sweep.
It gave the Orioles a 4-2 road trip and a 40-49 record after they had dropped 18 games under .500. The Orioles will return home to play the Mets and Marlins before the All-Star break as they try to get back in contention for a wild-card berth with the trade deadline approaching on July 31st.
In a game that started just after 11:30 a.m., neither team appeared crisp at the start. Holliday started the game with a bloop hit to left field that should have been a double but Holliday didn’t start running until it was too late to advance. He then was thrown out at second on an attempted steal as Ramón Laureano struck out. It was the first of three straight innings in which the Braves turned a double play. The Orioles turned two.
But while the offenses struggled, the pitching was strong, especially Rogers (2-0), who went 6 1/3 scoreless innings. Rogers, who was acquired by the Orioles from Miami last July, had been 0-7 with a 5.57 ERA in nine career starts against Atlanta.
“Excuse my French, but they’ve beat my [expletive] pretty consistently, and to finally go out and have a good start against that club, it’s really good for me,” Rogers told reporters in Atlanta. “I was able to do my job, and at the end of the day, we won a ballgame.”
The Orioles were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and missed an opportunity to break open the game in the eighth when catcher Jacob Stallings blooped a single to right and Holliday followed with a double to left. The Orioles would eventually load the bases but Stallings inexplicably held third when Gunnar Henderson hit a ground ball to the left of second baseman Ozzie Albies to keep it a 2-0 game.
The Braves spoiled the shutout and made it a one-run game in the ninth when catcher Sean Murphy hit a home run to center that hit off the top of the wall and bounced over against Seranthony Domínguez. In the seventh, Murphy hit a ball that also hit off the top of the wall but stayed in play for a double.
Holliday hit his home run, with Coby Mayo aboard, in the third off Atlanta starter Grant Holmes. It barely cleared the right-field wall but was enough on a day when Rogers, Yennier Cano, Gregory Soto and Domínguez allowed just one run.
How did Rogers pitch? Rogers was sharp from the start, allowing only four hits and striking out six while walking two. It marked the third time that Rogers has completed at least six scoreless innings this season in only five starts.
“Man, you take away that one start in Tampa, right, and it’s been really incredible,” interim manager Tony Mansolino told reporters in Atlanta. “The velocity was solid today. I think I’ve said in the past, a little bit velocity-dependent in some ways, but it wasn’t today. We didn’t see as many fives up on the board, but a lot more twos, threes, some fours in there. The extension, the changeup kind of plays into the fastball playing up, the competitiveness.”
Rogers nearly lost his shutout in the seventh on Murphy’s drive.
“That changeup I threw to Murphy, it was a bad pitch and he’s supposed to do that,” Rogers said. “In the past, that would have bothered me. But I was able to flush it and move onto the next one. So it’s a really good feeling to have.
“It’s the most confidence I’ve had consistently in a couple years. It’s just really fun to just have that simple mindset of really just trying to execute a pitch and don’t really care what happens.”
Big day for Holliday: Holliday said on the postgame show that he looks for the fastball and adjusts to the offspeed. He did that on the home run, keeping his hands back as his body came forward to generate enough power to hit the ball out.
The 21-year-old second baseman also acknowledged that he’s been scuffling lately.
“Kind of battling coming into today,” Holliday told reporters. “Kind of grinding through some stuff and just up there trying to compete. Got some lucky knocks and some good ones. So, just part of the game. But very happy with how I felt during the game compared to what I’ve been feeling the past few days.”
Big win for Orioles: The Orioles and Braves, both of whom were projected to be playoff teams, came into the series with similar records. Baltimore is now nine games under .500 while the Braves slipped to 11 under (39-50).
“That’s a good team and they’ve kind of dug themselves out of the hole already once this year, and they’ll do it again,” Mansolino said. “We really respect those guys. To come here and beat a team … three times, you know we definitely don’t take that for granted.”
What’s the word? “I’m just really happy with this group and the way we’ve been playing. I’m really happy with myself against that team.” — Rogers on beating the Braves and helping the Orioles.
What’s it mean? The Orioles have been playing better under Mansolino, led by the return of Jordan Westburg and Colton Cowser, the turnaround of Charlie Morton and Rogers and the strength of the bullpen. It might make decisions tougher for executive VP/general manager Mike Elias on whether to buy or sell at the trade deadline.
What’s next? The Orioles will begin a three game home series against the Mets on Tuesday night.