Gunnar Henderson stars to lead Orioles in 6-5 win over Angels: ‘He’s done everything’

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Coming off an American League Rookie of the Year campaign, Gunnar Henderson entered the 2024 season with massive expectations. He’s lived up to every bit of them so far.

The Orioles’ shortstop reached base five times and finished a triple shy of the cycle Wednesday to lead Baltimore (16-8) to a 6-5 series-clinching win over the Los Angeles Angels, crushing his team-leading eighth home run of the year and stealing his fifth base in the process. Right-hander Dean Kremer also tied his career high of 10 strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings and designated hitter Adley Rutschman capped off an impressive series with a pair of hits.

But it was Henderson who fueled the victory. After homering off a left-handed pitcher Tuesday night, he took Angels southpaw Tyler Anderson deep to right-center field for a solo shot in the third inning. His home run total ranks third in the majors behind only Angels center fielder Mike Trout, who also left the yard for the second straight day for his 10th of the year, and Atlanta Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna, who has nine.

“Just being able to, yeah, stay on the baseball and use your hands and not try to do too much,” manager Brandon Hyde said after the game. “We had a lot of guys do that in Kansas City but off a tough lefty like that, doesn’t give up many runs this whole year, to be able to do that, it was impressive.”

MLB’s season leader in triples (3) had a chance to complete the cycle when he came to the plate in the eighth, but he was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game. The 22-year-old pushed his season slash line to .309/.367/.649 with the three-hit performance, driving in three runs and scoring another three himself. His 1.016 OPS leads the AL.

“I’m making some adjustments,” Henderson said after the game. “I kind of felt like I was getting around to where I wanted to be but still not exactly where I want to be just yet, but I felt like I made some good improvements in the cage today. So, getting the progress started.”

The Orioles jumped out to a 6-0 lead through the first five and a half innings. Rutschman pitched in with an RBI single in the fifth; he finished the series 7-for-14 (.500) with multihit performances in five of his past six games overall. Second baseman Jorge Mateo, starting against a lefty in place of struggling top prospect Jackson Holliday, hit an RBI ground-rule double as part of a four-run sixth inning.

Kremer was impressive against the Angels the first two times through their lineup, taking a no-hit bid into the fifth inning and allowing just two base runners. However, he wasn’t able to carry over that success the third time through. Trout took him deep with one out in the sixth and first baseman Nolan Schanuel chased him from the game with a single the next at-bat on his 101st pitch of the afternoon.

“Everything’s kind of feeling good and body feels good,” Kremer said. “So, it’s just kind of keep everything rolling for as long as you can.”

Kremer deserved better than his final line of two runs allowed. Right-hander Jacob Webb, who entered the game with a 1.86 ERA, replaced Kremer in the sixth and gave up a two-run homer to left fielder Taylor Ward on his first pitch. The Orioles’ bullpen woes continued from there as shortstop Zach Neto went yard against right-hander Yennier Cano in the eighth to trim Baltimore’s original six-run lead to two.

Setup man Danny Coulombe then got the Orioles through the frame without allowing any further damage thanks to, in part, a stellar defensive effort from Henderson. Ward hit a ground ball deep into the hole on the left side of the infield that Henderson fielded and fired to first off his back foot for the final out of the inning.

“He’s done everything,” Hyde said of Henderson. “Huge defensive play there in the bottom of the eighth. If he’s on first there, things change a little bit. But yeah, just playing great defense, homers, steals, running the bases, hits. Awesome.”

After the Orioles’ attempt to provide insurance runs in the top of the ninth fell short, closer Craig Kimbrel locked down his 424th save to tie four-time All-Star John Franco for the sixth-most in MLB history. He worked around a two-base throwing error by Mateo and a two-out walk by right fielder Jo Adell, allowing one run to cross before the game ended with catcher James McCann throwing out Adell trying to steal second base on a play upheld by a lengthy replay review.

With the win, which included 16 strikeouts by Baltimore pitchers, the Orioles clinched their third consecutive series victory and a 4-2 record for the season against the Angels. Baltimore has won eight of its past 10 games heading into its next series at home against the Oakland Athletics. Orioles ace Corbin Burnes is scheduled to take the ball in the series opener opposite veteran right-hander Ross Stripling.

Athletics at Orioles

Friday, 7:05 p.m.

TV: MASN

Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM