Henderson breaks out with 3 hits to lead Orioles to 5-2 win over Twins

MINNEAPOLIS— Gunnar Henderson began Tuesday night’s game in an awful slump. He’d been hitless in his last 16 at-bats and broke out of that skid with three hits in the first four innings to help lead the Orioles past the Minnesota Twins, 5-2, before 21,677 at Target Field.

Pete Alonso, who also had three hits, hit a two-run home run, his 26^th, in the first inning, scoring Henderson, who had singled.

Henderson added a two-run home run in the second against Bailey Ober (7-4), his 19^th and first since July 25^th, to give the Orioles a 4-0 lead. He added a double in the fourth inning.

The 25-year-old shortstop had been just 2-for-25 in August. This was his first multi-hit game since July 20^th.

“I felt like it’s been a long-time coming,” Henderson said. “I felt like I had a lot of good swings recently and hit some balls hard and nothing to show for it, obviously, so to finally get one felt like a little bit of a relief.”

Oriole starter Brandon Young loaded the bases in the second on two hits and a hit batsman. Alan Roden’s infield out scored Royce Lewis.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s fourth home run in the third gave the Orioles a 5-1 lead. Encarnacion-Strand had three hits, as well.

Catcher Yohel Pozo left the game with left index finger pain in the third inning. Pozo interfered with Josh Bell’s swing and injured his finger. Carlos Narváez replaced him. After the game, manager Craig Albernaz said that Pozo did not fracture his finger.

Ryan Jeffers, who led off the inning singled and scored on Brooks Lee’s double, and the Orioles (58-62) led, 5-2.

Young (9-3) allowed two runs, one unearned, on six hits in six innings, walking three and striking out four.

“I thought I made some pretty good pitches early on, just found some holes,” Young said. “Could have been better with two strikes, getting ahead, all these things, but just bear down, battle through it. Thankfully, got through six, gave the team a chance to win. It’s a big one.”

The Orioles are 16-4 when Young starts, and he was delighted to see Henderson support him.

“He’s had a tough, tough, tough stretch this year, but he’s Gunnar Henderson,” Young said. “He can be an absolute beast, and if we’re going to make this playoff run, we’re going to need him to do what he did tonight and just be consistent, and I think he has been.

“I think he’s just had some tough luck out there. He’s hitting balls hard just about every game, so I think if he can just stay the course and continue being him, we’ll be in a really good spot.”

Josh Walker pitched a perfect seventh. Yennier Cano allowed a single and a walk in a scoreless eighth. Andrew Kittredge threw a spotless ninth for his sixth save.

How important is Henderson to the Orioles? Albernaz has stayed with Henderson throughout a difficult season.

“We’ve all seen it from Gunnar. It’s in there,” Albernaz said. “The results have been unforgiving, but with Gunnar, he works. He’s such a great worker, and he cares. And he’s been putting a lot of work in behind the scenes. It was good to see him hit the ball hard. He has been hitting the ball hard, but to actually get some results, it was really good to see. And the offense needed it, too.”

Encarnacion-Strand has gotten to play beside Henderson for nearly a month and admires him.

“It’s incredible. It’s great to see,” Encarnacion-Strand said. “We know Gunnar, he’s a baller. And it’s good to see him have some balls drop tonight.”

How important is Young to the Orioles? Albernaz said Young has been important to the Orioles.

“It’s been awesome. It’s been fun to watch his growth in front of our eyes, to see him in spring training and to see where he’s at now,” he said. “Obviously, we had some tough injuries on the pitching side. Like we talked about, when injuries happen, it hurts for the person that got hurt, but also, it’s an opportunity for someone to step up, and B.Y. did that. He stepped up big for us, and we’ve needed it. So it’s been awesome to see what B.Y. can do.”

Young has pitched more innings than ever in professional ball, 113 2/3 with the Orioles, and 16 2/3 with Triple-A Norfolk.

“I think one is just being consistent, week-to-week, day-by-day, start-to-start,” he said. “What have I been doing good this year and it’s trying to keep that into September and hopefully longer. I think it’s the in-between starts where we’re trying to recover better and listen to my body and arm. But as of right now, I feel really good. I think it’s all about execution, really.”

What does it mean? There have been many times this season when Henderson had a good game and failed to follow that. It would be great for the Orioles if he could finish the season strongly.

What’s the stat of the day?  460. Encarnacion-Strand’s home run traveled 460 feet, the longest of the season hit by an Oriole.

What’s the word? “I was having to get my stamina back out there on the bases because I haven’t really been out there very much. No, it was good. I felt like I was seeing the ball well and getting some good swings off.”-Henderson on having three hits in the first four innings.

What’s going on in the minor leagues? Eric Booth Jr., the Orioles’ top draft pick, singled and drove in a run in his professional debut as Single-A Delmarva beat Salem, 3-2.

Ty Head, the Orioles’ second-rounder also debuted, going 1-for-3.

Andrew Herbert pitched 4 1/3 innings in relief, allowing a run on two hits.

Reed Trimble hit a three-run home run and Luis Vázquez also homered as Triple-A Norfolk beat Gwinnett, 4-3.

Caden Hunter allowed six runs on three hits with four walks and six strikeouts in three innings as Double-A Chesapeake lost to Reading, 9-5.

Wehiwa Aloy hit a three-run home run. Aron Estrada also homered.

DJ Layton homered in his first at-bat for High-A Frederick and had three hits in the Keys’ 3-1 win over Bowling Green. It was Frederick’s seventh straight win.

Boston Bateman pitched three scoreless innings, allowing two hits.

What’s next? Shane Baz (4-11, 3.76) will start against Zebby Matthews (5-8, 5.23) tomorrow at 1:40 p.m.

Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com