On Saturday afternoon, Trevor Rogers walked into the Orioles’ clubhouse, AirPods in, all business.

He seemed relaxed, his interim manager noted a few minutes later, not at all intimated by his former team, which he was set to face for the first time since it traded him just under a year ago. But he was nervous, and he told catcher Jacob Stallings as much as they walked from the bullpen to the dugout to begin the game.

Stallings knew Rogers just needed to get through the first inning. When he did, the catcher walked over to his pitcher and reassured him.

“He’s like, ‘Great pitch right there. Now we can settle in and really focus on the game plan,’” Rogers said.

And Rogers did exactly that, pitching so well that even the umpire made a comment about it. He kept his composure even as he exited 6 2/3 innings later to a standing ovation, his gaze only on the dugout in front of him, trying his hardest not to get emotional.

“That meant the world to me, having that ovation with the fans,” Rogers said. “It really meant a lot. They love their baseball here. The fact that I could give ’em that performance in front of them, in front of this unbelievable crowd — it meant the world to me.”

His efforts alone weren’t enough, though.

Rogers left the game after giving up a single to Dane Myers, and Gregory Soto allowed that runner to score later in the inning. And, after the Orioles had nothing to give against Marlins starter Janson Junk, who pitched seven shutout innings, that run would be all the Marlins needed to win Game 2 of the weekend series 6-0.

The loss ended the Orioles’ three-game winning streak. The Orioles, who have only one game left until the All-Star break, are 43-51 and will have to wait to reach their immediate goal of getting to five games under .500 until the second half. After that, they have a steep climb to get back to .500, then into playoff contention.

“Wasn’t our best day,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “I think Junk threw the ball pretty good. You look at his numbers on the year and [they] painted a little bit of the picture for him going into it. We knew it was going to be tough.”

For Rogers, despite the loss, this was a continuation of a stark turnaround.

When he arrived in Baltimore last July in a trade for Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers, he was overwhelmed by the pressure of being the replacement for two of the Orioles’ beloved prospects. It showed in his performance — he pitched to a 7.11 ERA in four starts before being optioned to Triple-A for the rest of the season.

But this season he returned stronger, physically and mentally. His velocity is up — now hitting almost 96 mph — and his changeup far more effective. He also saw a sports psychologist, who helped give him a new outlook on the game.

It showed right away. In his first start with the major league team this season May 24, he pitched 6 1/3 shutout innings in the second game of a doubleheader, helping the Orioles put that morning’s walk-off loss behind them. In his five starts entering Saturday, he had allowed just five runs in 28 2/3 innings.

“I’m really liking where I’m at,” Rogers said. “But I don’t try to focus on the future. I don’t dwell on the past, either. I try to [maintain] just present-moment focus, day to day, stay within my process. It’s helping me a lot this year and really just continue that focus day in, day out.”

By the time Rogers faced the Marlins for the first time Saturday, he was prepared. His pitch count escalated in the first, after an error from Ryan O’Hearn extended the inning. But he cruised from there, not allowing his first hit until the fifth, when Myers singled to start the inning but was promptly caught stealing. Rogers then walked Stowers, but a strikeout and a pop-up quickly ended the inning.

Rogers made it through the sixth cleanly and had nearly done the same in the seventh when Myers hit another single. That was only the second hit Rogers had allowed all day, but, at 99 pitches, it would be his last batter.

Mansolino considered keeping him in but ended up bringing in Soto.

“I think we put a lot of thought into the decision and a lot of consideration, and I think sometimes decisions work out better than others, and that one probably just didn’t work out as good as some others we’ve made here recently,” Mansolino said.

The Marlins added another run in the eighth with Seranthony Domínguez on the mound and four in the ninth off Scott Blewett.

This article has been updated.