Orioles report leadoff homers in back-to-back video games – MLB.com

Jake Rill
BALTIMORE — After batting leadoff in every of the primary 40 video games of the Orioles’ season, Gunnar Henderson slid right down to the cleanup spot on Wednesday. Jordan Westburg moved into the No. 1 gap for the primary time in his MLB profession and promptly hit a leadoff house run vs. the Blue Jays.
“Simply making an attempt to do my greatest Gunnar Henderson impression proper there,” Westburg later joked.
No impersonations had been obligatory Friday evening. Following Thursday’s off-day, Henderson returned to his leadoff function and instantly obtained again to slugging leadoff dingers.
Henderson started the underside of the primary inning with a house run off Mariners right-hander Bryce Miller, jump-starting a five-run opening body for the Orioles of their 9-2 victory at Camden Yards. It was Henderson’s thirteenth homer of the 12 months — tied with the Astros’ Kyle Tucker and the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani for the MLB lead — and his fourth to come back in leadoff vogue.
“It’s simply making an attempt to get the offense going,” mentioned Henderson, who went 2-for-5 and added an RBI triple in a four-run seventh. “It’s very nice to have the ability to do it early and get that first one out of the best way.”
Baltimore hadn’t hit leadoff homers in back-to-back video games since June 28-29, 2002, when Melvin Mora went deep to open the underside of the primary in consecutive contests towards the Phillies at Camden Yards.
The O’s hadn’t had back-to-back leadoff house runs with every coming from a special participant since June 22-23, 1988, when Pete Stanicek and Ken Gerhart opened consecutive contests vs. the Blue Jays at Exhibition Stadium with homers.
After Henderson’s homer on Friday, the following 5 Baltimore batters reached base with out Miller recording an out. A run scored on an error by Seattle shortstop Dylan Moore, then Colton Cowser hit a bases-loaded two-run double. Westburg’s sac fly capped the five-run rally.
“We took a number of actually good at-bats within the first inning,” supervisor Brandon Hyde mentioned.
The early offense was greater than sufficient assist for Orioles starter John Means, who allowed two runs in six innings in his third begin since opening the season on the injured listing with a left forearm pressure. He earned his first win at Camden Yards since April 25, 2021, ending his streak of winless house begins at 14.
Means gave up three hits within the first, when the Mariners took a fast lead on Mitch Garver’s one-out RBI single. However the 31-year-old left-hander retired 16 of the ultimate 19 batters he confronted — his solely different blemish being a solo homer by Moore within the fifth — as he cruised as soon as his teammates obtained him a lead.
“It’s unbelievable,” Means mentioned. “Surrender one within the high after which get 5 within the backside — can’t ask for something greater than that.”
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On the opposite aspect, Miller didn’t permit any runs after the primary in his 5 1/3-inning outing. It was an uncharacteristic begin for the right-hander, who entered with a 2.66 ERA. Over his earlier eight begins this season, Miller didn’t permit any runs within the first inning, as batters had been 2-for-25 vs. the 25-year-old in opening frames.
The Orioles went 4-for-7 towards Miller within the first on Friday.
“I feel I missed a number of spots and so they put them in play and issues occurred,” Miller mentioned.
“I felt like we simply caught to the plan that we went up there with and didn’t sway away from it an excessive amount of,” Henderson mentioned. “All of us put collectively our processes and simply put collectively good, prolonged at-bats.”
Count on extra leadoff homers from Baltimore sooner or later. The streak could even proceed into the weekend.
If it’s Henderson atop the order, the defending American League Rookie of the 12 months has proven what he can do up there. The 22-year-old has hit a leadoff homer in six of his 82 profession video games within the No. 1 spot.
However Westburg can deal with the project, too. Within the Minors, the 25-year-old was a .325 (81-for-249) hitter from the leadoff spot. After all, this 12 months, he’s thriving from wherever within the lineup, batting .295 in 40 video games.
“I delight myself on being fairly versatile like that, being like a Swiss Military knife,” Westburg mentioned. “I’m open to being in that spot if that’s what Hyde desires me to do towards lefties, or if Gunnar wants a day without work. I don’t thoughts. I’ll get extra snug in that function.”
Hyde has mentioned he desires his leadoff hitter to be a participant with a excessive on-base share, a excessive OPS and a few pace. Henderson (.339, .908, six stolen bases) and Westburg (.346, .869, 5 steals) each match the invoice.
“We’ve a bunch of fine hitters that may hit leadoff,” Hyde mentioned.
And — because the previous two video games have proven — hitters who particularly can excel main off the sport specifically.

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