BALTIMORE — It’s hard to imagine a loss more demoralizing than the one the Orioles suffered Friday night.

A day that began with excitement surrounding Kyle Bradish’s newly signed contract extension ended in disaster. After leading for most of the game, Baltimore couldn’t close out the Atlanta Braves in a 7-6 loss in 10 innings.

Atlanta scored the go-ahead run off reliever Andrew Kittredge in the 10th because of a throwing error by Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday, who made a diving stop on a ground ball before tossing the ball over the head of shortstop Gunnar Henderson into left field, allowing automatic runner Brewer Hicklen to score. Matt Olson then blasted a three-run home run to right-center field to extend the lead to four.

Jeremiah Jackson responded with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th to bring the Orioles within three. Christian Encarnacion-Strand then belted his third home run in just five games as an Oriole to trim the deficit to one.

But catcher Sam Huff struck out swinging, ending a frustrating night for Baltimore, which could have won the game earlier.

After Atlanta walked the struggling Henderson to face him, Taylor Ward grounded out with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth. Ward took three straight balls before Elieser Hernández worked the count full. Ward then ripped a 102-mph grounder to third that Austin Riley bobbled before recovering to throw Ward out at first.

Reliever Rico Garcia surrendered a game-tying solo home run to catcher Drake Baldwin in the eighth inning, negating a strong outing by Trevor Rogers.

Baltimore (50-54) led 3-2 to that point, but it could have been a greater advantage if not for the Braves’ defense.

Pete Alonso was robbed of an extra-base hit by center fielder Michael Harris II on a leaping grab in the third inning. Olson, a three-time Gold Glove first baseman, made a masterful scoop to close the fifth on a ground ball by Ward. In the next frame, Mauricio Dubón fully laid out to rob catcher Chadwick Tromp of an RBI hit.

Rogers did his part. The left-hander went seven innings and held one of MLB’s top offenses to just two runs.

Rogers — who is playing on a one-year, $6.2 million contract — continues to show his value. After regressing to begin the season, the 28-year-old has found his rhythm since the start of June. He entered Friday with a 1.23 ERA and 33 strikeouts over his past six starts.

If the 28-year-old keeps pitching at this level, extending him will likely become a priority for Baltimore president of baseball operations Mike Elias and majority owner David Rubenstein. Rubenstein said Friday that the team is “eager to talk to anybody that wants to talk to [them] about a longer-term relationship.”

And keeping Rogers makes sense for the front office. He’s one of Elias’ top acquisitions.

Baltimore traded for him midway through the 2024 season in a deal with the Miami Marlins. Rogers then revived his career, pitching to a 1.81 ERA and 9-3 record in 2025. He’s been on that level the past month, including Friday.

The Braves’ only runs against Rogers came in the fourth inning. Dubón drove in one with a sacrifice fly before Riley scored another with a single — both off change-ups, a pitch Rogers has thrown at a career-low rate this season.

Rogers came into Friday throwing the pitch 22.4% of the time in 2026, down from 25% last year. Despite a slight uptick in velocity, batters have hit nearly 70 points better against the pitch this season. Rogers’ offspeed pitches have overall taken a step back this year.

The bottom of the Orioles’ lineup built him a lead.

In the second inning, Leody Taveras walked before Holliday singled into right field. Encarnacion-Strand, who is hitting .400 through five games as an Oriole, then doubled into deep left field to create a two-run lead.

In the fourth inning, Holliday delivered a sacrifice fly to score Ward, who reached base safely for the 17th straight game. He boasts an American League-high 80 walks.

Braves starter Grant Holmes finished with three runs allowed. He looked to be en route to his first loss in more than a month.

Instead, Baltimore floundered late. By the time the Orioles came to bat in the bottom of the 10th inning, much of Camden Yards was already cleared out. The fans who left nearly missed an inspired comeback.

But in a conclusion emblematic of the entire night, Baltimore came up just short.

Around the horn

— Baltimore recalled left-hander Josh Walker from Triple-A Norfolk ahead of Friday’s game. The 31-year-old reliever has a 4.50 ERA in six innings pitched for the Orioles this season. He joins Grant Wolfram in the bullpen, giving manager Craig Albernaz two southpaw relievers.“Having another lefty should help us alleviate some of the pressure off [Wolfram],” Albernaz said pregame Friday. “Another lefty that can get lefties out.”

— The Orioles optioned Johnathan Rodríguez to Triple-A on Thursday. The outfielder played in seven games, amassing two hits in 11 at-bats. Through 359 career at-bats across three seasons, the majority of which came in 2024 and 2025 with the Cleveland Guardians, Rodríguez is hitting .177. Baltimore also claimed catcher Yohel Pozo off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals and optioned him to Triple-A. The 29-year-old collected eight hits in 33 at-bats for the Cardinals in 2026.

— The Orioles’ Corona Flag Court Bar opened ahead of Friday’s game. There is now a Corona-themed wall in right field, Corona signage on the right field railing and a bar featuring cocktails, beer, wine and peanuts.

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