Nothing separated the teams through three innings. Then one swing changed everything. Baltimore held on from there, with Trevor Rogers doing most of the work in a 3-1 win over Washington on Friday night at Camden Yards.
Rogers was the story. The left-hander worked 6.1 innings, allowing 5 hits and 1 run while walking none and striking out seven on 87 pitches. He moves to 5-7 on the season with a 4.99 ERA. Ryan Helsley closed it out with a scoreless ninth, striking out one, to earn his eighth save of the year.
The game turned in the fourth. From a scoreless tie, Blaze Alexander singled to left, scoring Mayo and O'Neill to put Baltimore ahead 2-0. Alexander finished 1-for-3 with 2 RBI. Coby Mayo went 2-for-4 and added a run of his own in the seventh, when his double to left scored Taylor Ward to make it 3-1. Ward was Baltimore's most active bat, going 3-for-5.
Washington answered briefly in the fifth. Keibert Ruiz singled to center to score Jacob Young, cutting the deficit to 2-1. But that was all the offense the visitors could muster against Rogers and the Baltimore bullpen. Andrew Alvarez took the loss — his first of the season — after allowing 2 runs on 6 hits over 4.1 innings, walking three and striking out five. His ERA stands at 3.44.
Baltimore snapped a two-game losing streak to improve to 38-44, while Washington dropped to 41-41, extending its own skid to three straight.