Gunnar Henderson continues to impress in his young Major League Baseball career. He won the 2023 American League Rookie of the Year Award after hitting .255/.325/.489 with 28 home runs and 82 RBIs.
A year later, he's still one of the Baltimore Orioles' main guns as he manifested his hitting power in his last three games. Henderson has connected on a home run in those games, which were all part of their three-game series against the Seattle Mariners.
3 straight games with a homer, 15 homers on the year.
— MLB (@MLB) May 19, 2024
Gunnar Henderson is ABSURD! pic.twitter.com/UtdQF4mo3d
On May 17, Henderson completed a 402-feet homer off a pitch by Bryce Miller in the bottom of the first inning. That connection tied the count at 1-1 and jumpstarted Baltimore's 9-2 victory. A day later, he connected on a home run against Andres Muñoz in the bottom of the ninth inning. Unfortunately, the Orioles fell short of the victory 4-3.
On May 19, Henderson homered off George Kirby in the bottom of the first inning to start the scoring for the Orioles. His 422-foot blast to center field is his 15th of the season, which triggered a 6-3 victory for Baltimore.
After 44 games, Henderson is hitting .270/.348/.946 with 34 runs and 31 RBIs. More importantly, his solid hitting helped the Orioles stay within contention with the New York Yankees for the American League East lead and a frontrunner in the AL Wild Card race.
After Henderson and the Orioles finished an eight-game home stand against the Mariners, the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Toronto Blue Jays, they will start a seven-game road schedule against the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago White Sox.
-Lance Fernandez