Apr 14, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo (2) steals second base during the fifth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images | Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images Well, it was bound to happen. Trevor Rogers was bound to have a bad night.

Unfortunately, it happened in a game where the Orioles’ offense was unable to make the most of its opportunities. It was really only one bad inning of pitching. But it was too much for the Orioles to overcome, leading to a 4-3 loss.

The Orioles took an early lead off of starter Merrill Kelly. Kelly was making his season debut and was far from perfect. He walked four, for one thing.

The Orioles left runs on the table against him, which is frustrating to watch on any night. But on this night, when Rogers could have used a pick-me-up from his offense, it was especially glaring. The prettiest hit of the day came off the bat of Samuel Basallo to lead off the second inning.

He absolutely crushed a fastball. It left his bat at 109.2 mph and landed 431 feet away in the Eutaw Street seats. It felt like a good omen at the time.

It was not. In the third, the Orioles had the chance at a big inning but could not make it happen. After Taylor Ward singled with one out, Pete Alonso and Basallo walked to load the bases.

Kelly was struggling with control. All Dylan Beavers had to do was keep the bat on his shoulder and he would have walked with the bases loaded. Instead, he chased three pitches in the dirt for a strikeout.

Leody Taveras was watching, however, and learned what to do. He took a four-pitch walk. Ward scored the second run. Colton Cowser got a fastball down Broadway for his first pitch, and he let it rip.

He smoked it at 105 mph, but it was caught in centerfield for the last out. It was a good pitch to hit and Cowser got a good swing on it, but it was also frustrating when Kelly was having such a hard time finding the plate. Kelly was in trouble again in the fourth inning, but again the O’s offense bailed him out.

Jeremiah Jackson led off with a double and Blaze Alexander…bunted? Why? Jackson was already in scoring position. It was the fourth inning.

But that’s what he did. Jackson got to third base with Gunnar Henderson coming up and then Jackson GOT HIMSELF PICKED OFF for the second out. Just terrible decisions all around.

Henderson struck out to end the inning. Though Rogers got through the first four innings without allowing a run, he did run into some trouble in each frame. It wasn’t all his fault.

The defense left something to be desired, even if no errors were called. In the fifth inning, he was unable to escape again. James McCann singled to start the inning and Jorge Barrosa walked.

Ildemaro Vargas, who replaced Ketel Marte in the lineup not long before the first pitch, got his chance. He made the most of it. His three-run homer put the Diamondbacks up, 3-2.

But that wasn’t the last of it. Geraldo Perdomo singled and stole second base, then came in to score on a double by Jose Fernandez. That was it for Rogers.

His final pitching line: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 HR. He threw two wild pitches. One thing that went right on this night was the bullpen.

Craig Albernaz turned to Rico Garcia after Rogers, which I really liked. There was a runner on second and the need to keep the game from getting out of hand, so Alby went to the high-leverage guy who normally comes in late. Garcia got that last out of the fifth, then pitched a perfect sixth.

Grant Wolfram followed with a perfect 1.1 innings. Yennier Cano replaced Wolfram and retired all three batters he faced. Together, the three pitches struck out seven batters in 3.2 innings.

Is this bullpen actually good?The offense made some noise in the bottom of the inning but once again were unable to capitalize. Pete Alonso started a one-out rally by challenging a called strike three. He was correct; it was ball four.

Basallo followed with a single. Beavers had another chance, but grounded out. Taveras came through again, this time with an RBI single to cut the deficit to one.

Colton Cowser walked to load the bases for Jackson, but he did not have another grand slam in him. He grounded out to end the rally. With one out in the top of the ninth, Albernaz made the puzzling choice to go to Nick Raquet.

Raquet allowed two baserunners but was bailed out on a sliding catch by Cowser to end the inning. It could have been a lot worse. I would like to request that this guy not pitch in high-leverage situations for awhile.

Diamondbacks closer Paul Sewald came in for the ninth and made short work of Alexander, Henderson, and Ward. Thus the Orioles lost what felt like a winnable game, even with Trevor Rogers having an off night.