Jackson Holliday delivers Orioles' 1st walk-off win of season, 4-3 over Mariners

Jacob Calvin Meyer, The Baltimore Sun on Aug 13, 2025

Published in Baseball

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BALTIMORE — The Orioles going the first 119 games without a walk-off win embodied how disappointing this season has been.

It might be all but over, but at least the 120th game featured the most enthralling type of win a team can achieve.

After the bullpen squandered yet another save, Jackson Holliday sent the small crowd at Camden Yards — and a dugout filled with players who’ve yearned for a moment like this — into pandemonium with a walk-off double to propel the Orioles to a 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners.

With two outs in the ninth, Holliday smacked a line drive down the right-field line off Mariners reliever Matt Brash. Seattle right fielder Dylan Moore was shaded toward center field, allowing Dylan Carlson, who reached on a two-out single, to easily score. Players from Baltimore’s dugout rushed onto the field to celebrate with Holliday at second base.

Baltimore is 54-66 and the last of 30 MLB teams to earn a walk-off win this season.

After a 1-hour, 40-minute rain delay, Orioles starter Trevor Rogers was his usual self, cruising through the first six innings without the Mariners even threatening to score. The lone run he allowed was partially caused by his defense. Greg Allen misplayed a ball off the center-field wall to turn Julio Rodríguez’s double into a triple. With one out, Rogers induced a hard grounder from Josh Naylor, but Holliday couldn’t make the tough play at second as the ball rolled into the outfield for an RBI single to put Seattle up 1-0.

Rogers struck out six and didn’t issue a walk in his no-decision. He’s allowed two or fewer runs in all but one of his 11 starts this season.

The 27-year-old entered with sparkling numbers — a 1.44 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and a .168 batting average against — and somehow lowered all three figures. His 1.43 ERA ranks as the best among MLB starting pitchers since his season debut May 24. The only left-handed starters since 2000 to open a season with a lower ERA are Max Fried (2025) and Randy Johnson (2000).

The Mariners’ 1-0 lead felt insurmountable given how anemic Baltimore’s offense had been. The Orioles had failed to score in 17 straight innings entering the seventh and tallied only two runs across their previous 32 frames.

But Ryan Mountcastle smacked an opposite-field solo homer to lead off the inning, and Jeremiah Jackson’s Little League home run brought home two runs after his line drive kicked hard off the right-field wall and a wild relay throw home sailed out of play.

Despite having a 3-1 lead, relievers Yennier Cano and Keegan Akin combined to cough up the save and send the game to the bottom of the ninth — setting up Holliday’s walk-off hit.

Instant analysis

Rogers is a front-of-the-rotation starting pitcher now. The Orioles shouldn’t enter next season with that expectation.

This winter, the Orioles relied on Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez to anchor their rotation, signing two low-ceiling veterans to one-year contracts rather than replace ace Corbin Burnes. The result of that plan is one of the main reasons the Orioles are one of the American League’s worst teams this season.

During his 11 starts this season, Rogers has looked like at worst a No. 2 pitcher — and maybe a full-blown ace. But the idea that Rodriguez and Eflin would combine to start 14 games this season with a 5.93 ERA this season would have been unthinkable a year ago.

The 2025 season was Murphy’s Law. What could go wrong mostly did go wrong. It should serve as a reminder that “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry,” and planning as such would be prudent.

A rotation with Rogers as the No. 2 starter behind Kyle Bradish could very well lead the Orioles back to the playoffs. But a rotation with Rogers as the No. 3 or No. 4 starter would put the Orioles in position to be legitimate contenders once again.

On deck

The Orioles have the opportunity Thursday to win their first series since the trade deadline. After trading away six players in the 24 hours leading up to the July 31 deadline, the Orioles took one of three games in each of their next three series. Tomoyuki Sugano (9-5, 4.24 ERA) will hope to stop that trend when he pitches opposite right-hander Logan Evans (6-4, 4.36 ERA).