– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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BALTIMORE — When Gunnar Henderson launched his game-winning home run late in Thursday’s come-from-behind victory in Milwaukee, it did more than just assure that the Baltimore Orioles would avoid being swept in a series for the first time in this promising season. The clout may very well have been the swing where the proverbial light turned on for the 21-year-old who, at one point, was Major League Baseball’s No. 1 overall prospect.
Since that blast against the Brewers, Henderson has not stopped raking, and though there could be a debate whether that homer was his most important hit so far in his career, his moonshot on Sunday afternoon was undoubtedly his longest…and one of the longest balls ever hit at Camden Yards.
Henderson cracked a couple of more extra-base hits on Sunday, including a 462-foot blast that landed onto Eutaw Street situated well beyond the right field wall, to spark the Orioles’ 11-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals to complete a three-game weekend sweep. Henderson and Ryan O’Hearn each had three hits, with O’Hearn scoring four runs, while Ramón Urías went 4-for-5 as Baltimore smacked 14 hits in the contest.
Henderson came into this season as one of the leading candidates to win Rookie of the Year, though his struggles at the plate during the first two months of the season was one of the few low points during the Orioles’ surprisingly good start to the season. Now that the month has turned to June, Henderson, who has batted in the leadoff spot the past two games, has swung the hottest bat in the lineup, as today’s contest marked the third consecutive game that he has recorded multiple hits.
Since the start of June, Henderson is 11-for-24 (.458) with four homers and seven runs batted in in seven games played.
“He’s on a heater right now, man,” said Orioles starting pitcher Kyle Gibson, who earned his eighth win after throwing 6 1/3 innings and allowing three runs and seven hits. “He’s seeing the ball really well. He’s put together at-bats all year long. I know he hasn’t had something to show for it early in the season, but he’s a guy that’s not deviating from his plan. He knows the type of hitter he is.”
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Sunday afternoon’s contest, with all photos taken by DC-area photographer Yusuf Abdullah. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 11 pictures in total.
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