O's game blog: Trevor Rogers faces the Blue Jays in Toronto

TORONTO - After losing both a game and pitcher Grayson Rodriguez to injury last night, the Orioles have to figure night two in Toronto will go better for them. 

Now in second place for the first time in over a month (since June 26), the Orioles 67-47 are now 33-22 on the road and 6-5 against Toronto.

The Birds had won the last two games at Cleveland but have now lost three of five and nine of their past 16 games. They are 9-9 since the All-Star break.

The Orioles are 23-11 in American League East games and 11-4 in division games on the road. They are 3-0-1 in four AL East road series. To not lose their first one of the year, they'll need two straight wins at Rogers Centre.

The Orioles had scored 16 runs on 30 hits on Saturday and Sunday in Cleveland and they went 3-for-29 at-bat last night. Jackson Holliday's solo homer to right-center in the sixth was Baltimore's first hit and the Orioles went 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position.

Holliday has homered three times in six games since his latest chance in the majors and has homered in two straight games. In six games since rejoining the Orioles, he is 8-for-20 with a double, three homers and eight RBIs. He is batting .400 with an OPS of 1.378.

Colton Cowser went 0-for-3 Tuesday night to snap his hitting streak at 17 games, which tied for the longest by any O's rookie all-time. Over the past 18 games, he is 25-for-67 with four homers and 15 RBIs. He is batting .373 with an OPS of 1.031 in this span. 

Cowser's hitting streak was the longest by an Oriole since Austin Hays in 2021 hit in 17 in a row. The last Oriole with an 18-game hitting streak was Cedric Mullins in 2021 (7/20-8/13). The 17-gamer remains tied for the longest by an O's rookie in team history with Trey Mancini in 2017 (17 G, 9/11-29); it's only the fifth of at least 15 games by a rookie in Orioles history, along with Mancini, Brian Roberts (6/22-7/12/01), Eddie Murray (9/16-10/1/77), and Rich Coggins (9/9-27/73).

Lefty Trevor Rogers (2-10, 4.76 ERA) will make his 23rd start tonight and his second with the Orioles. He gave up five runs in 4 1/3 innings last Thursday at Cleveland in his O's debut.

His first start seemed a bit rushed, just after he joined the team from Miami after the trade.

“Definitely feeling a lot more settled in. Gotten to know the guys really well and the coaching staff, the pitching department. Just able to go about my routine every day. So definitely got my feet underneath me," said Rogers, 26, who is under team control through 2026.

In his last nine starts with Miami, Rogers pitched to a 3.17 ERA, allowing a .702 OPS to opponents.

Righty Bowden Francis (4-3, 5.64 ERA) pitches for the home team. His last start was against the Orioles in Game 2 of the doubleheader last Monday at Camden Yards. He gave up three runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings on 76 pitches.

He has made 18 appearances, but just four as a starter. In those four games, Francis is 1-2 with a 7.50 ERA.