Rogers Dominates, Baltimore Steals One From the Dodgers

Trevor Rogers threw seven innings of one-hit, scoreless baseball, and Baltimore walked out of Los Angeles with a 3-2 win. Shohei Ohtani — back from paternity leave just in time — hit a home run, but it wasn't enough to bail out a Dodgers offense that Rogers made look helpless.

The story of the night was Rogers, and it wasn't particularly close. The Baltimore left-hander went 7.0 innings, allowing just 1 hit, 0 earned runs, and striking out 6 against 2 walks. That's a performance that would look dominant against any lineup — against the Dodgers, the current No. 1 team in the MLB Power Rankings, it looks like a statement. Yoshinobu Yamamoto took the loss for Los Angeles, giving up 6 hits and 3 earned runs over 6.0 innings with 6 strikeouts of his own. The Dodgers' bullpen — Edgardo Henriquez and Alex Vesia — each threw a scoreless inning with two strikeouts apiece, but the damage was already done.

Baltimore's offense did just enough. Blaze Alexander went 1-for-4 but drove in 2 runs, providing the margin that held up all night. Leody Taveras was the engine at the top, going 2-for-4 and scoring twice. Samuel Basallo also went 2-for-4, and Colton Cowser contributed a hit and a run in three at-bats. It wasn't a flashy offensive performance — it didn't need to be. Three runs against a Yamamoto start is a winning formula when your pitcher is dealing the way Rogers was.

For the Dodgers, Ohtani's return from paternity leave produced a 1-for-4 line with a home run and an RBI — the kind of night that reminds you what he is, even when the team loses. Tommy Edman was the only other Dodger to do real damage, going 2-for-4. The rest of the lineup appears to have been neutralized almost entirely by Rogers. With catcher Will Smith still sidelined by a neck injury and unavailable this weekend, Los Angeles looks like a team navigating some real depth issues right now — and Baltimore, to its credit, took full advantage.