Orioles’ Trevor Rogers spins gem in 6-3 win over the Red Sox; Nathaniel Lowe makes Boston debut; Bullpen issues continue to rear their ugly head

As May saw his pitch count climb, he walked Beavers and then struck out the No. 9 hitter, Dylan Carlson , on his 100th pitch of the night.

In total, the Orioles peppered Red Sox' pitching for 12 hits, including three from Ryan Mountcastle. Henderson was 2-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored, while rookies Jeremiah Jackson , Basallo, and Beavers had multiple hits as well.

May (7-9) took the tough-luck loss despite finishing his six-inning quality start.

The story of the night was Rogers, who lowered his ERA to 1.41, which is among the best amongst pitchers with at least 60 innings pitched this season, according to MLB.com. It was his eighth straight start in which he threw at least six innings and allowed two runs or less. It’s the longest stretch by an Orioles pitcher since the great Jim Palmer went eight straight from May 20 to June 18 in 1978.

With the win, Rogers improves to 6-2 on the year and is the first Orioles hurler with an ERA under 1.50 through his first 12 starts.

The southpaw faced no more than four batters in any of the six innings he pitched in and set the Sox down in order three times. The lone run he gave up was off a Jarren Duran sac fly in his final inning of work.

Boston attempted to rally in the ninth inning with Roman Anthony getting a single, followed by Nathaniel Lowe, who made his Red Sox debut, worked a walk. Duran hit a double off the Green Monster, scoring two runs, cutting it to 6-3. Ceddanne Rafaela grounded out to first base to end the game.

The two clubs will wrap up their brief two-game series on Tuesday night at 7:10 p.m. Boston will send Walker Buehler (7-7, 5.43 ERA) to the mound and will face righty Tomoyuki Sugano (10-5, 4.13 ERA). The Sox will have Wednesday off before playing a crucial four-game series in the Bronx against the Yankees beginning on Thursday night.

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WELCOME TO BOSTON

Prior to the loss on Monday night, the Red Sox officially announced the signing of Lowe. 

Lowe, who was released by the Nationals over the weekend, will get a fresh start and could be a potential impact bat for the Red Sox lineup and will be the club’s primary first baseman against right-handed pitchers, while utilizing Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro against left-handed pitchers.

He would make his debut on Monday night, pinch-hitting in the bottom of the ninth for Gonzalez, and worked a walk. He would later score on Duran's double that smacked off the Green Monster. Lowe is expected to make his first start on Tuesday night against Orioles righty Sugano.

“He is a left-handed hitter who has been there, done that,” said Alex Cora. “He was part of the Rangers when they won. So an up-and-down season for him with the Nationals. Hopefully [he improves] here. We talk a little bit about the Wall (Green Monster) and what it means to lefties, and he's excited to be here. We'll use him against righties, certain lefties, and pinch-hit late. We’ll maximize the roster.”

Lowe was designated for assignment by the Nationals on Aug. 14, after struggling to consistently hit in the middle of Washington’s lineup. While in the nation’s capital, Lowe hit just .216 with 16 homers and 68 RBI and owned a .665 OPS. He’s recorded a 26.5% strikeout rate and a career-low 86 wRC+ and -0.8 WAR, according to FanGraphs.

“I’d like to have amnesia,” said Lowe about his time in Washington to reporters at Fenway Park on Monday afternoon. “I’d like to wipe it from my memory because it hasn’t gone nearly as well as I’d like it to. There’s still some bright spots that I can look at and still hang my hat on, but there’s so much room for improvement, and there’s so much time left for this team to do something special.

“I didn’t really know what to expect going into D.C. I didn’t make the most of that opportunity. The slash line is nowhere near where I want it to be.”

Boston has been platooning both Gonzalez and Toro at first base since Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee surgery in early May. Both players have filled in admirably over the last couple of months; a possible change of scenery for Lowe could be a boost to the Sox offense and defense at first base.

“I’ve always enjoyed coming here as a visiting player,” Lowe said. “The gameday environment is so great, and seeing this team win and being part of something like that is so attractive. There’s a need for first base, and I’d like to think I can plug myself in and really contribute.

“It’s so exciting. Getting plugged into a lineup that’s having great success and is part of making a great postseason push is what it’s all about. It’s a true blessing to be here.”

The addition of Lowe is the ultimate low-risk, high-reward play for Craig Breslow. Boston is on the hook to pay Lowe the league minimum, while the Nationals are responsible for his remaining $10.3 million. If the left-handed slugger plays well, the Sox could retain him next season. Lowe is under team control for the 2026 season if the Sox want to offer him a deal. He is expected to earn a raise next season, which could cause the Sox to balk.

Lowe got a firsthand look at the Red Sox when they played a three-game series at Nationals Park during the Fourth of July weekend. The Sox gave the Nats a beatdown, outscoring them 27-9 over the weekend series.

“There’s veteran talent, there’s younger talent, and there’s talent on both sides of the ball. It feels like the group has really bought in,” Lowe said. “Obviously, I was on the wrong side of a really lopsided series in July, so it’s nice to join a team that spanked us the way they did for those three days.”

The Red Sox adding Lowe is an important development this late in the season. He had other options around the league and chose to play in Boston and help them push towards the postseason.

Lowe has postseason experience, playing for the 2023 World Series’ champion Rangers.

“It’s definitely a different animal,” Lowe said. “You throw your personal stats aside, and the only thing that matters is winning that day. Playing that brand of baseball down the stretch and, obviously, in the postseason, is most important. It’s kind of addicting. The point of the whole thing is winning the whole thing.”

The addition of Lowe also goes to show how far the Red Sox’ roster has come since they traded Rafael Devers back in June. Devers was asked to play first base at one point and that ultimately never came to fruition and due to other issues between him and the team, he was traded to San Francisco. The Gonzalez/Toro platoon has been the story for the Red Sox, the second year in a row Boston has used spare parts to play first base.

Toro’s playing time is expected to be reduced with the addition of Lowe. He’s hit just .161/.216/.253 since July 8 and is under .200 since the All-Star break.

“I know his numbers this year don’t show much,” said Cora of Toro, “but it’s a good at-bat from a guy who we trust.”

He remains on the roster for the short term, and with the season-ending injury to Marcelo Mayer, the Sox can use Gonzalez at second base when lefties are on the bump, pushing Ceddanne Rafaela back to center field, where he is a Gold Glove talent. The Sox can then platoon Lowe and Toro against righties. Toro has hit .269 against right-handed hurlers this season.

“It all depends on matchups and all that,” said Cora of Gonzalez’s usage.

The injury bug has also been popping up, with right fielder Wilyer Abreu dealing with a tight calf, and lefty masher Rob Refsnyder was placed on the injured list Monday afternoon with an oblique issue. The Sox added Nate Eaton to the 26-man roster. He can play in the infield and the outfield.

Cora will continue to mix-and-match his players and starting lineups nightly, but for Lowe, he’s just excited to be in a winning situation.

“Over the course of 162, you can trip yourself up,” said Lowe. “I need to get out of my own way and play my own brand of baseball. I feel like this park and this team allows me an opportunity to do that."

BULLPEN WOES

The Red Sox' bullpen woes on Saturday afternoon directly impacted the loss on Sunday afternoon.

Boston carried a 7-2 lead into the night inning on Saturday, and Cora opted to have right-handed reliever Isaiah Campbell get the last three outs.

In theory, the move made sense; Campbell has pitched poorly in his stints for the Sox this season, and utilizing him in a low-leverage situation should have saved relievers for Sunday’s series finale with Miami.

Instead, the Marlins rocked Campbell for three runs off four hits, and they crawled within two runs, 7-5, of the Sox. At that point, Cora had to use his closer, All-Star Aroldis Chapman, to slam the door for the win on Saturday. The 37-year-old had already pitched on Friday night, and with pitching in back-to-back games, it effectively made Chapman unavailable for Sunday, which proved costly for Boston.

With the Sox leading 3-2 on Sunday, Cora went with righty Greg Weissert in the ninth, and he was unable to earn the save. On his second pitch of his outing, he hung a slider to Marlins outfielder Dane Myers, who belted a game-tying homer, making it 3-3.

Weissert allowed an infield single to infielder Eric Wagaman, and it knocked him from the game. The southpaw Steven Matz was summoned to face Jakob Marsee, who hammered a two-run homer, giving the Marlins a 5-3 lead. The blast proved to be the game-winner.

Before the defeat on Sunday, the Sox had gone 57-1 in games they led after eight innings. It should be noted that there was no guarantee that Chapman would have converted the save on Sunday, but given the fact that he’s saved 22 of 24 games, the odds were likely in his favor.

Boston has been struggling to find a low-leverage reliever pitch late in games to secure the final outs. Jorge Alcala was utilized in that role but was ineffective; he ultimately was designated for assignment and claimed by the Cardinals. Jordan Hicks has been horrific since he was acquired in the Devers trade with the Giants. His troubles continued on Monday night in the ninth inning versus Baltimore, allowing two runs off two hits in one inning of work. His ERA is 6.61 in 15 games for the Red Sox. 

“Again, he didn’t finish the slider,” Cora said of his reliever Hicks. “We’re gonna continue to work with him. We’re not gonna give up.

“This is who we are. This is the roster that we have, and that’s our job: keep grinding with them. We’re not gonna give up. And it’s gonna take more than the 26 guys that are here, we know that. There’s people on the roster or off the roster that probably they’re gonna contribute, but right now we’re doing everything possible to help them out. All of them.”

Jovani Moran has been a dud since coming off the injured list, yielding two runs off two hits and issuing a walk in the seventh inning. Boston optioned the lefty back to Triple-A Worcester following the game, according to MassLive's Christopher Smith. Fellow left-hander Brennan Bernardino will be recalled from the WooSox and be with the Red Sox for the series finale on Tuesday night.

The Red Sox need to find someone who can handle these low-leverage spots down the stretch because the combo of Alcala, Campbell, Hicks, and even Weissert (seven blown saves) haven’t delivered, and it’s forcing Cora to use his key relievers in spots they shouldn’t.

Justin Slaten could be an option soon for the bullpen. The righty will begin a rehab assignment with the WooSox on Tuesday.

“They felt comfortable last week, so it was either live today or go on a rehab assignment, and everyone is comfortable with that,” said Cora.

Slaten, 27, has been on the injured list since June 1 with what was initially described as right shoulder inflammation. He was later diagnosed with his transverse process/bone pressing and pinching against nerves and blood vessels, causing the soreness.

It’s unclear how many rehab outings Slaten will need, and the Sox will be cautious with the hard-throwing righty.

“Obviously with what happened last year and what happened this year, we have to be careful,” Cora said.

Slaten spent time on the shelf last season from July 12 to August 26 due to right elbow inflammation.

“This is kind of like pushing it a little bit because he’s been great the last two and a half weeks,” Cora said. “I’ll be very careful; see how he bounces back. Let’s see his outing, too. We would love him to go down there and strike out the side and be efficient. But a little bit of pressure, too, will benefit him. So we’ll see how it goes.”

Boston has been moving Slaten along slowly, and the reliever has appreciated that the team wants him back at full strength to avoid future setbacks.

“We want it to be like, ‘no it’s completely gone, and you’re coming back at 100%’ because obviously we know what position the team is in, and we’ve got to make a push,” Slaten said. “So we wanted to make sure that everything was at 100% when I came back, and that’s kind of where I’m feeling right now.”

Once he returns from the injured list, the Sox can slowly work Slaten back into high-leverage roles, and he could be the perfect option to get work in mop-up spots late in games with Boston up big. This season, he’s posted a 3.47 ERA with a 0.90 WHIP in 24 games. On top of that, he’s held opposing hitters to a .171 batting average.