Gunnar Henderson crushed a two-run homer in the eighth inning to give the Baltimore Orioles a 4-2 victory Tuesday at The Rate in Chicago. The go-ahead blast followed back-to-back doubles by Blaze Alexander and Taylor Ward that tied the score. The win marked the Orioles' first back-to-back victories of the season after early struggles.
Henderson had struggled earlier, striking out on a 12-pitch at-bat with the bases loaded in the second inning against starter Shane Smith, who had walked four and hit a batter. Trevor Rogers pitched six innings, allowing two runs, for the Orioles. Henderson's homer off left-hander Chris Murphy bounced off the top of the right-center-field wall, putting Baltimore ahead for good after a 2-2 tie with one out in the eighth. Three runs in the inning secured the win despite the Orioles going 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and leaving 10 on base through five innings. Baltimore entered with just six homers, 28th in baseball, but Henderson now has four in 11 games, including his second straight game-winner and second off a lefty this road trip. “I felt like I was seeing the ball pretty well and just had nothing to show for it,” Henderson said. “And then was able to get one and didn't miss it.” Trevor Rogers praised the shortstop: “Gunnar’s the guy for us. The fact that he came up in that spot and pulled through, that’s why he is who he is. He’s the man.” Manager Craig Albernaz added, “He’s always in the at-bat, and for him to come through [after the second-inning strikeout], it was awesome. Those three runs got us the win.” Blaze Alexander said of Henderson, “He’s one of the best players in the world, and I’m fortunate to be on this team, man. He’s the man.”
