Josh Rogers makes winning debut, Delmarva's All-Stars and more

An 11th-round draft pick of the New York Yankees in 2015, left-hander Josh Rogers made it to the Double-A level with Trenton in the Eastern League in the 2017 season. But it was just for seven starts and he assumed he would begin this year back in that Double-A rotation. But Rogers got a surprise and he began the 2018 season in the rotation with Triple-A Scranton.

Then he got another surprise. He was traded to the Orioles and would pitch for Triple-A Norfolk. Then came his latest surprise. He was being called up by the Orioles and was going to make his Major League debut.

"I was supposed to start in Trenton and be in the starting rotation in Double-A, to get to start in Scranton (at Triple-A) and then with the trade and then have the opportunity here and make my big league debut, it's just a dream come true for me and my family," Rogers said after he provided the Orioles and their fans with a feel-good moment last night.

The lefty pitched five innings and allowed seven hits and three runs, winning his MLB debut as the Orioles backed him with 12 runs and 17 hits and an error-free game.

Said outfielder Craig Gentry, who helped out with his first big league homer since Aug. 30, 2017: "Yeah it's awesome. I think he went out there and did a great job. For his first game, he kept himself really composed and pitched well. I think he's got a bright future ahead of him. He came out and got himself out of a couple of jams and battled and pitched a great game for us. Luckily, we were able to get some runs on the board for him and help him relax."

Rogers kept Toronto off the board through the third and then allowed one run but stranded the bases loaded in the fourth. He gave up Justin Smoak's two-run homer in the fifth but he exited at that point and wound up winning his first big league start.

He had a big rooting section last night including his parents, grandparents, girlfriend and high school and college coaches. If you wanted a good seat at a sports bar in Rogers' hometown of New Albany, Indiana last night, you probably had to arrive early.

"We probably had 30 people here tonight, at least," Rogers told reporters. "I can't thank them enough. And I have people back home. A couple of sports bars had extra service people tonight. I think they bought the MLB package to watch. The support from my hometown has been incredible. I can't wait to look at my phone and see what my friends had to say about tonight."

Orioles shortstop Tim Beckham said he was excited to be a part of the kid's debut and was glad the Orioles did their part playing behind him.

"It was fun," said Beckham. "Early on he had his fastball working and once he got settled in, he kept the hitters off balance with his offspeed. He looked composed out there. He didn't look like the game was speeding up on him. He pitched with confidence. (It will) be fun to watch him here in the future.

"You want to play good baseball behind him. You want to play good defense behind him. It's a special moment for him and you want to make the plays and get any balls you can on defense. Have him keep that momentum going and keep that confidence going into his next start."

The Orioles did that and all that offense didn't hurt. Last week when they got swept, three straight in Toronto, they scored five total runs in that series. In beating Toronto at Oriole Park on Monday and Tuesday night, the Orioles have scored 19 runs on 28 hits.

Trey Mancini had a double and triple in the first three innings last night. He has seven extra-base hits his last four games. He is 8-for-15 in that span with four doubles, a triple, two homers and seven RBIs. Mancini is batting .298 since the All-Star break.

Rogers, whose fastball sat mostly between 90 and 92 mph, became the 53rd player the Orioles have used this season. That is one short of the club record of 54 in 1955. The 2018 Orioles have now used 27 pitchers and that matches a team record also set in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2016.

Delmarva's All-Stars: The Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds placed two players on the South Atlantic League postseason All-Star team. Zack Jarrett was named as a utility outfielder and Jean Carlos Encarnacion as the third baseman.

In 123 games, Jarrett has hit .274/.338/.440 with 25 doubles, six triples, 14 homers, 72 runs and 67 RBIs. Jarrett got off to a fast start to his year, batting .338 in April. In June he hit .356/.411/.495. Jarrett ranks in the top five in the league in games, hits, total bases and runs. He was a 28th-round draft pick in 2017 out of North Carolina Charlotte and the area scout that signed him was Rich Morales.

Encarnacion was traded to the Orioles from Atlanta on July 31 in the deal that sent Kevin Gausman and Darren O'Day to the Braves. The 20-year-old from the Dominican Republic was already playing in the Sally League for Rome at the time of the trade and then he joined Delmarva. In 119 games between both teams, he is hitting .280/.303/.451 with 26 doubles, seven triples, 12 homers and 64 RBIs. He ranks ninth in the league in batting average.

O's host Make-A-Wish child: Before the Orioles went out and beat Toronto last night, they did some very nice things to brighten one youngster's day.

The Orioles welcomed Vincent, an eight-year-old from Costa Mesa, Calif., to Oriole Park through Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic. Vincent, who has leukemia, received a tour of the ballpark and was given his own locker and nameplate with a personalized jersey and hat. He also presented the Orioles lineup card to the umpires prior to the game.

The @Orioles called up Vince of @MakeAWish today! Vince got to check out BP, have a catch with players and take home a bat from @AustinWynns! pic.twitter.com/avwAIOiY8s

-- Orioles on MASN (@masnOrioles) August 28, 2018