LOS ANGELES -- Some may have thought Yoshinobu Yamamoto might flirt with a no-hitter on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium. After all, the 27-year-old Japanese right-hander came within one out of a no-no when he faced the Orioles for the first time at Camden Yards last Sept. 6 (before the O’s rallied for an improbable victory).
Well, there was a pitcher who was nearly unhittable on Saturday night. But it wasn’t Yamamoto this time.
Instead, it was Trevor Rogers who twirled seven scoreless innings of one-hit ball to guide Baltimore to a 3-2 victory in Los Angeles. The 28-year-old left-hander retired 20 of the 23 Dodgers batters he faced during a masterful 96-pitch, 60-strike outing.
“To do that against probably the best lineup in baseball, some of the best players to ever play this game, it was just awesome,” Rogers said. “At the end of the day, we got the win, and I’m just happy I was able to contribute.”
Rogers set down 13 of the first 14 batters he faced, as the only player to reach base during that stretch was Andy Pages, who drew a one-out walk in the first but then got caught trying to steal second base. Los Angeles’ first hit didn’t come until Tommy Edman’s two-out single in the fifth.
But Rogers immediately settled back in, striking out Kyle Tucker looking to end the fifth -- with catcher Samuel Basallo winning an ABS challenge to turn a ball into a called third strike -- and then retiring the side in order in the sixth. Mookie Betts drew a two-out walk in the seventh, but Rogers got Miguel Rojas to fly out to the center-field warning track to end his night.
“That’s who Trevor Rogers is,” shortstop Blaze Alexander said. “When he’s right, he’s one of the best pitchers in the game.”
This was the type of outing the Orioles expected to routinely get from Rogers this year. Last year, he was the club’s Most Valuable Oriole Award winner, recording a 1.81 ERA over 18 starts in a bounce-back campaign. Then, he was named the club’s 2026 Opening Day starter and began the season with three straight quality starts, posting a 1.89 ERA over that span.
Rogers struggled from mid-April through the end of May, though, pitching to a 10.01 ERA in seven starts from April 14-May 29 -- each of which came in an O’s loss.
June has been going much better for Rogers, who has a 2.22 ERA in four starts this month.
The key to Rogers’ success this time out was a heavy dosage of heaters. He threw 51 four-seam fastballs, 10 cutters and seven sinkers, while only using his changeup and sweeper a combined 28 times. Of Rogers’ 13 whiffs, seven came via four-seamer and four by cutter.
“It just seemed like we got bullied tonight with the fastball,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “You’ve got to hit the fastball. He has a good fastball. He bores in on the right-handed hitters. Lefties, it’s a tough at-bat, but the righties, I think that he just really came after us with the fastball and we just couldn’t get anything going.”
It was a plan that developed for Rogers as he realized his fastball felt better than it had at any previous point this season.
“We were just riding it, and it continued to perform really well,” Rogers said. “Just keep going with what the game is telling you, and it just happened to be a good fastball night.”
The Orioles tagged Yamamoto for three runs in six innings. Leody Taveras and Colton Cowser opened the second with consecutive singles, with Taveras coming around to score the game’s first run on a fielder’s choice groundout by Coby Mayo.
The biggest knock of the contest came from Alexander, who stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the fourth and roped a two-run double down the left-field line to extend Baltimore’s lead to 3-0.
As well as the O’s played for 8 1/2 innings, there was a scare in the bottom of the ninth. And it may have brought some bad déjà vu for fans who stayed up late to watch, considering closer Ryan Helsley blew a save opportunity on Friday night, when he allowed three runs and the Dodgers orchestrated a 6-5 walk-off win.
This time, the Orioles stayed away from Helsley, who had pitched two of the previous three days after coming off the injured list. They instead went with right-hander Andrew Kittredge, who immediately gave up a leadoff homer to Shohei Ohtani.
After Kittredge issued a one-out walk to Freddie Freeman, Baltimore pivoted and inserted right-hander Yennier Cano. A pair of defensive miscues kept things interesting, as Mayo couldn’t corral a ball at third that resulted in a one-out infield single for Betts. Then, with two outs, Taveras dropped a fly ball hit by Edman to right that allowed a run to score, cutting it to 3-2.
But Cano struck out Tucker swinging to end it. The Dodgers left runners on the corners. Rogers’ gem was preserved. And the Orioles (36-42) won -- which, to manager Craig Albernaz, was all that mattered.
“We won the game,” Albernaz said when asked about the ninth. “3-2 win, we'll take it.”