Trevor Rogers brings a 2.22 ERA over his last four outings into Nationals vs Orioles, and the Orioles need that form to hold after a frustrating West Coast trip. Baltimore returned to Camden Yards six games under.500 and two games out of the final AL playoff spot.
Rogers sharpens Baltimore
Rogers was listed as the probable Orioles starter with a 4-7 record, a 5.30 ERA and 54 strikeouts, but the recent stretch tells the better story. He posted a 10.31 ERA in 18.1 innings across four starts in May, then cut that to 2.22 over his last four outings while averaging just over six innings per start.
His most recent outing was even cleaner. He held the Dodgers to one hit and two walks over seven scoreless innings, a line that gives Baltimore a chance to open the series with something firmer than the road results it just brought home.
Camden Yards and the Beltways
The matchup is the second Battle of the Beltways series of the season, and the earlier meeting went the Nationals' way. The Orioles dropped two out of three in DC in the middle of May and have gone 17-18 since then, while the Nationals are 18-17 over their last 35 games after that meeting.
That recent split leaves both teams in the same awkward place: close enough to matter, but not cleanly inside anything. The Nationals entered at.500 and were three games outside the NL playoff picture, while Baltimore's return home came with the pressure of needing to climb back from six games under.500.
Camden Yards has been part of the Orioles' edge in this matchup before. They were 9-5 against the Nationals at Camden Yards in the Mike Elias era prior to last season, but the Nationals swept them there last May, which makes this home set a direct chance to reset the tone in Baltimore.
TBD for Nationals
The Orioles know their starter. The Nationals have listed TBD for the opener, so the first real matchup edge for Baltimore starts with Rogers and whether his recent run of strike-throwing carries over from the West Coast to Camden Yards.
