SARASOTA, Fla. — The game didn’t count, not even toward the meaningless Grapefruit League standings, but the Orioles looked as bad as they have all spring Tuesday.

Baltimore’s mistake-riddled 8-5 loss to Team Netherlands in the national team’s first tune-up ahead of the World Baseball Classic was decided early when the Dutch jumped all over Orioles starter Trevor Rogers. Aided by three Orioles errors, Team Netherlands tagged Rogers for six runs, including a three-run homer by Boston Red Sox center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela.

The Dutch were dealt a blow just before first pitch when news broke that left fielder and leadoff hitter Jurickson Profar was facing a 162-game suspension after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug for the second time in his career. Profar was listed in the Netherlands’ original lineup and even announced by the stadium’s PA announcer, but he was scratched for Ray-Patrick Didder at the last moment.

Didder made the most of the opportunity, hitting a leadoff home run off Rogers. The left-hander allowed six hits with a walk and four strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings; manager Craig Albernaz pulled him with two outs in the in the second and brought him back in the following frame so he could get his pitch count up to 58 (41 strikes).

“It was just one of those days they were seeing everything,” Rogers said. “So, tip your cap and I think we accomplished a lot of good things, as far as going from Plan A to Plan B. As far as pitching in different ways to kind of get them off heaters so I still like where I’m at and if that’s the worst it’s going to be on March 3, I’ll take it.”

Rogers’ defense did him no favors. Jeremiah Jackson, making his first start of the spring at shortstop, missed a soft line drive right at him in the second at-bat of the day and third baseman Bryan Ramos threw a ball to first base wide on the very next play. Catcher Samuel Basallo then picked up an error in the third when he skipped a throw to second trying to catch a runner stealing and the ball wound up in the outfield.

“Sloppy game,” Albernaz said. “It was a sloppy game to start. It’s frustrating. We got to be better. That’s not indicative of who we are but yeah, we’re going to be better on defense.

“That’s why it’s spring training, that’s why we’re here. Our guys have been working hard. It’s not the work. It’s just the attention to detail, even when the game starts. So, our guys are aware of it. We’ll make the adjustment.”

First baseman Pete Alonso had a veteran leadership moment in the second when he called his own mound visit and brought all the Orioles’ infielders in to try and spark some energy. The pep talk didn’t spark a turnaround — Rafaela’s homer was four pitches later — but Alonso did his part by going 2-for-2 with a 384-foot opposite-field home run.

After a sloppy defensive start to today’s game, Pete Alonso called his own mound visit with the Orioles infield in an attempt to settle things down. pic.twitter.com/iz7zAmaYJQ

— Matt Weyrich (@ByMattWeyrich) March 3, 2026

Though stats were wiped from the record because it was an exhibition game, Jackson hit his first home run of the spring with a solo shot in the second and left fielder Taylor Ward stole a base before scoring on Alonso’s homer. Shortstop José Barrera entered the game for Jackson and hit a two-run single in the sixth to make the score respectable.

Reliever Yennier Cano pitched a clean frame out of the bullpen and right-hander Dean Kremer, making his final appearance before joining Team Israel for the WBC, threw four scoreless innings on 53 pitches (34 strikes) against a lineup of mostly Netherlands backups. Israel will face the Netherlands in pool play when the tournament kicks off later this week.

Around the horn

• Infielders Jackson Holliday (hand) and Jordan Westburg (elbow) worked out on the backfields at Ed Smith Stadium on Tuesday morning, doing mock swings without their bats at home plate and completing base running drills around the infield. Albernaz said that the Orioles are not “banking on” Holliday, who is expected to start swinging a real bat this week, playing in any Grapefruit League games before the team breaks camp.

Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday was doing work on the backfields today in Sarasota, Florida, while recovering from hand surgery. First-year manager Craig Albernaz said Holliday is progressing well, but he’s not counting on the infielder’s participation in any Grapefruit… pic.twitter.com/W9n4NupGMr

— The Baltimore Sun (@baltimoresun) March 3, 2026

• After completing his first live bullpen session of multiple “ups” Friday, right-hander Zach Eflin will make his spring season debut Thursday on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays. It will mark his first time pitching in an MLB-organized game since undergoing back surgery in August. Right-hander Shane Baz will pitch Wednesday with the Houston Astros in town.

• The Orioles announced their first round of cuts Tuesday, optioning right-hander Chayce McDermott and reassigning right-hander Jeisson Cabrera, infielder Payton Eeles, right-hander Keagan Gillies and right-hander Richard Guasch to minor league camp. McDermott was perhaps the biggest surprise of the group as a candidate to pitch out of Baltimore’s bullpen at some point in 2026. Their roster stood at 69 players after the cuts.

• Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson was not listed in Team USA’s lineup Tuesday for its first exhibition game against the San Francisco Giants. As expected, he ceded shortstop to Bobby Witt Jr., but manager Mark DeRosa opted to go with the veteran Alex Bregman at third base over Henderson. Team USA plays two exhibition games in Arizona before beginning pool play Friday against Brazil.

Have a news tip? Contact Matt Weyrich at mweyrich@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200, x.com/ByMattWeyrich and instagram.com/bymattweyrich. Matt appears as a regular host on The Sun’s “Early Birds” podcast.