Orioles' playoff hopes dim despite Rogers' gem in 1-0 loss to Brewers

Jacob Calvin Meyer, The Baltimore Sun on Sep 19, 2026

Published in Baseball

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BALTIMORE — In what could be his last start as an Oriole at Camden Yards, Trevor Rogers pitched like someone other MLB teams will want this offseason — and like someone Baltimore could certainly use in 2027 and beyond.

With the Orioles’ season hanging in the balance, Rogers shut down the National League-best Milwaukee Brewers at Camden Yards on Saturday. Through six innings, the only hit and run he allowed came from a line drive that landed because Orioles right fielder Rece Hinds lost the ball in the sun. Rogers cruised through eight magnificent innings with 10 strikeouts, earning a standing ovation from Baltimore fans.

But that was the last time the fans would cheer Saturday evening. Rogers’ resplendent performance wasn’t enough, as the offense once again struggled in clutch situations en route to a 1-0 loss. Baltimore’s bats went 0 for7 with runners in scoring position one day after going 2 for 12 in such situations in Friday’s loss.

The defeat sinks the Orioles even further into the abyss. A playoff berth is virtually out of reach, but the season is nearing its end. Baltimore (75-80) is approaching a second straight losing season and elimination from the postseason. The Orioles are four games back of the Chicago White Sox for the American League’s third and final wild-card spot with only seven games remaining.

The Orioles’ only hope is to go undefeated the rest of the way and hope to win a tiebreaker with the White Sox and/or Toronto Blue Jays. FanGraphs puts the odds of this happening at below 2%.

Rogers has said several times during his Orioles career that he loves pitching in front of Baltimore fans at Camden Yards. The fanbase booed him early in his career as he struggled after being traded from the Miami Marlins, but he quickly became a favorite last year amid a breakout campaign that earned him an AL Cy Young Award vote.

In 24 career starts at Camden Yards, Rogers has a 3.03 ERA and a 1.005 WHIP. He overcame a poor start to this season and has since pitched to a 2.92 ERA since the start of June. His final start of the season will come next weekend at Yankee Stadium.

The Orioles will almost certainly extend the qualifying offer to Rogers to begin the offseason. Expected to be worth around $23 million, it will be up to the left-hander whether to accept it and remain in Baltimore next season or hit free agency and see if he can get a long-term contract that would probably pay him around that amount in annual salary. Baltimore has given extensions to starting pitchers Shane Baz and Kyle Bradish this year, but Rogers has said several times that the club has not offered him one.

As Rogers mowed down the Brewers, Milwaukee left-hander Robert Gasser did the same to the Orioles, allowing only three hits across seven scoreless innings. Relievers Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby followed with scoreless frames to close it out.

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