BOSTON — On Saturday afternoon, Trevor Rogers starting on the mound felt to some like the Orioles were waving the white flag.

Now, it’s difficult to imagine him not getting another start next week.

Rogers, the much-maligned left-hander, made his season debut in Game 2 of Baltimore’s doubleheader against the Red Sox and twirled the best performance by an Orioles starter this year. Rogers, the club’s 27th man for the twin bill, pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings and his bullpen was just as stellar as the Orioles won, 2-1, to split the doubleheader at Fenway Park. The Red Sox won Game 1, 6-5, on Rafael Devers’ walk-off single.

Ryan O’Hearn’s RBI single in the eighth of Game 2 gave the Orioles a 1-0 lead, while Dylan Carlson’s RBI double in the ninth gave Baltimore’s bullpen some much-needed cushion. Seranthony Domínguez allowed a solo homer to Abraham Toro in the ninth, but the right-hander who imploded in Friday’s 19-5 loss bounced back to slam the door.

The win is only Baltimore’s second in its past 12 games, fifth this month in 21 tries and second since the Orioles fired skipper Brandon Hyde and promoted Tony Mansolino as interim manager.

The Orioles acquired Rogers, a controllable starter with a track record of success and injury issues, at last year’s trade deadline from the Miami Marlins, and the immediate results were poor. The 27-year-old southpaw posted a 7.11 ERA in four starts, experienced diminished velocity and was demoted to Triple-A. He suffered a partially dislocated kneecap during the offseason, missed spring training and was on the injured list to begin the season. Upon his return, the pitching lines in Triple-A Norfolk were not encouraging.

Then, Rogers on Saturday pitched in the big leagues for the first time since August, and he shoved. With a fastball averaging 93.3 mph and topping out at 95.6 mph, Rogers carved up a Boston lineup that scored 19 runs on Friday (though eight of those were off a position player) and six in Game 1. That’s a significant uptick from late last season when he was averaging 88-91 mph.

Through six innings, Rogers had retired all but one batter he faced and struck out five batters, several of whom looking on fastballs that appeared to take Red Sox hitters by surprise. Before he plunked Rob Refsnyder in the seventh inning, Rogers had retired 16 straight hitters. Kristian Campbell then blooped a single to right field, and Mansolino pulled Rogers for right-hander Andrew Kittredge.

While Tomoyuki Sugano has delivered several stellar starts, Rogers’ outing Saturday was the most dominant by a member of Baltimore’s rotation this season. Dean Kremer’s seven shutout innings with two strikeouts against Kansas City is the only one in the same stratosphere as Rogers’ outing Saturday.

Kittredge escaped Rogers’ jam in the seventh but then got into one of his own in the eighth. With a thin bullpen after Mansolino used five relievers in Game 1, Domínguez replaced Kittredge with two runners on and also found a way to strand both, getting Devers, the hero of Game 1, to pop out with the tying- and go-ahead runs on second and first base.

Instant analysis

The discourse surrounding Mike Elias as the Orioles’ general manager is lacking nuance.

A starved fan base rightfully frustrated by the state of the ballclub is now directing its ire toward Elias after the Orioles fired manager Brandon Hyde last weekend. The Orioles owning one of the majors’ worst records is, after all, more Elias’ fault than Hyde’s.

But it’s not as black and white as many are making this out to be. Baseball is never binary, and Rogers’ performance Saturday was the latest proof.

Elias’ lack of investment in his rotation is the topic that’s earned him the most criticism, and rightfully so. The Orioles entered Saturday with the worst ERA in MLB and one of the sport’s least effective rotations. However, mixed in with his failures in this department (Jack Flaherty at the 2023 deadline, Charlie Morton this past offseason) are successes (Zach Eflin at the 2024 deadline, Tomoyuki Sugano this past offseason).

The biggest whiff — well, maybe until Saturday — was Rogers, for whom Elias gave up prospects Kyle Stowers and Connor Norby to acquire at the 2024 trade deadline. Stowers is in the midst of a breakout campaign, and each big blast of his while Rogers was in the minors served as a reminder of a deadline deal gone wrong. But Rogers showcased Saturday that he might still have some upside left to flash.

But if this season has taught us anything, it’s that baseball is a weird game. There’s still time left for Rogers to turn that trade around.

On deck

After splitting the doubleheader, the Orioles will look to split the series Sunday afternoon. Dean Kremer will start for Baltimore opposite Red Sox righty Walker Buehler.

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