Josh Rogers wins major league debut, O's win series (updated)

The Orioles assigned Josh Rogers one of the lockers closest to the entrance that allows the media inside, and he already was planted in his seat today at 3:10 p.m. as the door swung open. He made eye contact with a reporter and began to rise before realizing that there wouldn't be an introduction.

Never talk to the pitcher on the day that he's starting. It's an unwritten rule that applies to veterans and rookies.

Rogers would be surrounded later in the night, of course, after making his major league debut against the Blue Jays and earning the decision in a 12-5 victory before an announced crowd of 11,762 at Camden Yards.

Tim Beckham hit a three-run homer off left-hander Thomas Pannone in the third inning, Craig Gentry delivered a two-run shot in the fourth and Trey Mancini had a double and triple in his first two at-bats as the Orioles won back-to-back games for the first time since July 27-29. Adam Jones matched his career high with four hits.

Pannone shut out the Orioles on one hit over seven innings in his last start, but Chris Davis stroked an RBI single tonight in the first, Jones did the same in the third and Beckham drove a changeup an estimated 415 feet to left-center field. Gentry topped it with a drive estimated at 420 feet for a 7-1 lead that ended Pannone's night.

Gentry had his first home run of the season and the Orioles improved their record to 39-94 overall, 23-44 at home and 3-12 versus the Jays. They've won their first series since July 26-29 against the Rays and will try Wednesday for their first three-game sweep of the season.

Rogers allowed three runs and seven hits in five innings with one walk and two strikeouts. Justin Smoak hit a two-run homer with the count full and two outs in the fifth to reduce the lead to 7-3, and Ryan Meisinger began to warm as Randal Grichuk followed with a single. Kevin Pillar, who was Rogers' first strikeout victim back in the second, popped up the southpaw's 85th pitch to end the inning.

Meisinger entered in the sixth, with Rogers now qualifying for the win. He just needed the bullpen to protect a six-run lead. Grichuk reduced it to five with a home run off Mike Wright Jr. in the seventh, but the Orioles scored three times in the eighth.

Rogers ran the count full to the first two batters he faced, retiring Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on a ground ball and Devon Travis on a fly ball. Smoak swung at the first pitch thrown to him, the 13th of the inning, and flied out to bring another ovation from Rogers' cheering section in front of the press box.

His first three pitches missed the strike zone, but Rogers didn't come apart at the seams. He kept pumping fastballs averaging 92 mph before mixing in a slider, changeup and curveball over the first two innings.

Rogers retired nine of the first 10 batters, but three singles in the fourth, the last by Pillar, cut the lead to 5-1. Rogers also walked a batter after a double play was challenged and the call reversed, but he struck out Aledmys Díaz on a slider to escape further harm.

A gut check was bound to happen. He passed it.

Rogers was the first left-hander to start for the Orioles this season, with Wade Miley the most recent on Sept. 29, 2017. According to STATS, the 2017 Phillies are the last team to go an entire season using only right-handers in the rotation.

The Indians are the only team this season that hasn't used a left-handed starter.

The only Orioles team to go an entire season without a southpaw starter was in 2002, and it happened despite the use of 11 different pitchers in the rotation: Scott Erickson (28 starts), Sidney Ponson (28), Rodrigo Lopez (28), Jason Johnson (22), Travis Driskill (19), John Stephens (11), Calvin Maduro (10), Sean Douglass (eight), Pat Hentgen (four), Josh Towers (three) and Rick Bauer (one).

Left-hander Erik Bedard made two relief appearances.

The Orioles' current stretch of 134 consecutive games started by right-handers was the second-longest active streak in the majors behind the Indians' 160, and tied for the second-longest in club history. That happened the first time Sept. 21, 1998-Aug. 26, 1999. The longest streak was 225 games from July 25, 2001 to March 31, 2003.

Omar Daal ended it by facing the Indians on April 2, 2003 at Camden Yards.

Davis gave Rogers a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first with a single that scored Mancini, who continued his hot stretch with a two-out double and moved to third on Jones' single. Davis began the night batting .131/.208/.299 in 120 plate appearances against left-handers, but he also singled in the third before Beckham's home run.

The Orioles have been outscored 103-59 in the first inning this season.

Davis added a two-run double off right-hander Murphy Smith in the eighth.

Mancini tripled with one out in the third and scored on Jones' single. Mancini reached third base and raised his average to .242, its highest point since May 25. He also had a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

Jonathan Villar succeeded in stealing a base for the 13th consecutive time, making him 21-for-23 this season, before Gentry's homer. Villar and Gentry had run-scoring singles in the fifth after Joe Biagini hit Beckham and Renato Núñez in back-to-back at-bats.

Villar, Gentry and Davis each collected three hits, and the Orioles totaled 17.

Cedric Mullins played center field in the ninth inning.

Manager Buck Showalter on Rogers: "I was reminding him what time the game starts and he said, 'Oh, I'll be here early.' I said, 'You really don't need to.' He was here. I thought he handled all that pretty well. I think probably his most comfortable time was getting out there and pitching. You could tell he's a guy who likes to pitch.

"He had a little thing. I know you probably saw him last inning looking down at his finger. Do you all find it's really weird, or whatever the word is, that we use different balls in the big leagues than the minor leagues? I think sometimes we lose sight of the adjustments they have to make when they come to the big leagues to the baseball. It is different, it's a different baseball. I know there's a lot of talk about solving that issue in the off-season. I think they're going to. It just shouldn't happen. He was talking the ball had a different feel to it coming off. But he commanded the fastball pretty well.

"It was a good start for him. Got a win. They're down there indoctrinating him to his first W as I left."

Showalter on what Rogers showed with Díaz strikeout: "That's a tough one. Roger (McDowell) was talking about it to me in the dugout. What a momentum swing that is. Any pitcher, especially him, they made his double-play ball. We don't quite turn it and all of the sudden we're back there ... it tests your mettle. He handled it well."

Showalter on Rogers bouncing back after home run: "I didn't want to take him out of the game, especially after seeing his mom and dad here. I would have. That was his last hitter. I'm not going to let him go anymore. I told you what the innings were with him. I planned coming into the game to take him to five, maybe the sixth tops. But we weren't really good in the bullpen for length.

"I don't know if relief is the word. I'm just proud how much that meant to him."

Showalter on difference in Pannone: "I don't know if it was him or us. You really want to see the second time you see somebody, there's not that ambush feeling. You let guys get their feet on the ground. I'm not sure if it was us or him. He wasn't nearly as sharp as he was at their place. He got into a good rhythm and was working both sides of the plate, I don't think he ever got his feet on the ground."

Rogers on outing: "Yeah, I couldn't have drawn it up any better. Got some good run support early and pitching with run support makes it a heck of a lot easier, especially in an debut like that. Just tried to go out and pound the zone and let the defense work behind me, and they did a great job tonight."