The Orioles claimed Robert off waivers from the Mets on August 31, just days after New York activated Juan Soto and cut him loose despite Robert hitting.286/.342/.557 with 6 home runs in August. Baltimore only owes him roughly $3 million for the rest of the season, with a cheap $20 million option for 2027 attached. Two days later he was in the lineup at Coors Field batting fifth against Tomoyuki Sugano, and it took all of one at-bat for the trade to look like a win.
Against Tomoyuki Sugano, Luis Robert Jr. makes his Orioles debut. Holliday - DH Alonso - 1B Henderson - SS Robert Jr. - LF Basallo - C Mayo - 3B Beavers - RF Alexander - 2B Cowser - CF Rogers - SP
Baltimore jumped Sugano early with three straight singles from Blaze Alexander, Jackson Holliday and Pete Alonso for a 1-0 lead, and then Robert made his first swing count. He drove a ball into right-center for a two-run double, and just like that the Orioles were up 3-0 with their new outfielder already on the board.
Luis Robert's first hit as an Oriole is a two-run double!
Trevor Rogers was the other story of the night. He struck out the side in the 6th on his way to a career-high 11 strikeouts, working into the 7th without issuing a single walk against a Rockies lineup that had scored just seven runs in 27 innings over the series. It was as clean an outing as the rotation has gotten all year.
Trevor Rogers, K'ing the Side in the 6th. 10Ks thru 6
Then the bullpen let it slip away. Andrew Kittredge gave up back-to-back doubles to Cole Carrigg and Zac Veen in the 9th to tie it at 3-3, sending the game to extras. Baltimore looked like it had stolen it back in the 11th, with RBI singles from Samuel Basallo and Blaze Alexander building a 5-3 cushion — and a ground-rule double that (fortunately for the Orioles) kept the tying run from scoring kept it that way at 5-4 with two outs. It didn't matter. Brett Sullivan delivered a two-run single off Grant Wolfram to win it for Colorado, his first career walk-off hit.
Rockies walk it off and take the series against the Orioles!
The loss dropped Baltimore to 69-71 and handed Colorado the series, capping a nine-game road trip the Orioles finish 6-3 overall despite the sour ending. Robert's debut double was the kind of instant-impact moment that justifies a waiver claim, but for a team fighting to stay above.500 in September, a blown lead in extras stings a lot more than one good swing helps.