Gunnar Henderson dazzles in dominant performance as Orioles sweep Athletics

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — On Friday, Gunnar Henderson received a rare day off. He sat in the dugout at Sutter Health Park and bantered with the starting pitching group. For a player who is always running at 110%, playing with his hair on fire, perhaps those innings of respite — of watching and chatting — led to this.

One ball off Henderson’s bat left on a line, hardly rising even as it kept sailing over the right-center field fence for a home run. Another skyrocketed toward the sky before cresting and falling just shy of the trees along the grass berm in right field.

For how different the trajectories, they both traveled 413 feet. And they were critical in the Orioles’ 8-5 victory against the Athletics on Sunday that allowed Baltimore to come as close to .500 as it has been since April 30.

That has been a challenging barrier for the Orioles. Since May, they have come within two games of .500 six times. They lost the subsequent game on all six of those occasions. But on Sunday, with the Orioles entering a game two games under .500 for a seventh time since May, they cleared the hump.

Baltimore swept the Athletics to become 68-69. The Cleveland Guardians also won Sunday, however, so the Orioles remain one game back of the final American League wild-card place.

To get here, the Orioles needed a game like this one from Henderson. As he has scuffled through 2026, Baltimore has relied on contributions from elsewhere, and Coby Mayo’s three-run home run in the fourth only continued a breakout season for the infielder.

But Henderson is a critical piece of the lineup, and his gears haven’t caught nearly enough this year to power the group forward. For the Orioles to make a surge toward October, Henderson’s contributions will be of paramount importance.

Between him and Mayo, their long balls accounted for enough runs to cover for right-hander Chris Bassitt’s shaky performance. Henderson went on to produce a 4-for-4 day that included a single and an RBI triple in the eighth inning.

That triple in the eighth scored Jackson Holliday, who pinch ran for Pete Alonso, from first base. A few moments earlier, right-hander Kade Morris lost control of a 95 mph fastball. It swirled up and in on Alonso and hit the Orioles star on the brim of his helmet.

Although Alonso walked to first base and seemed to insist he was OK, manager Craig Albernaz opted to lift him from the game.

Beyond that, there was much to like for the Orioles on Sunday. They beat up on left-hander Jeffrey Springs, beginning with Henderson’s first-inning homer that left the ballpark on a line. And, although Bassitt allowed five runs within the first three innings, Mayo and Henderson soon gave Baltimore the lead.

Mayo, who is hitting like a Hall of Famer when facing left-handers this year, came to the plate in the fourth after singles from Alonso and Henderson. The changeup Springs threw on the outer edge of the plate stood no chance.

Mayo throttled the ball for his 19th home run of the season. A major league-high 15 of those have come against left-handed pitchers.

One inning later, with two more runners on base, Henderson lifted his own three-run homer to establish the lead. And Henderson capped his third four-hit day with that opposite-field triple in the eighth.

This was more like it — an all-around day from Baltimore’s potential star at shortstop. Henderson showcased why infield coach Miguel Cairo called him an “elite shortstop” before the game. Several times, he robbed hits from the Athletics. And, in the box, Henderson showed what has been occasionally hard to come by this season.

It’s in there. He’s a game-changing player. And, for the Orioles to make a September run at the postseason, this version of Henderson would be a massive boost.

Note

Left-hander Cade Povich is on his way to Denver, where he will meet the Orioles, a source said. Povich was originally scheduled to start Sunday for Triple-A Norfolk. Instead, left-hander Dietrich Enns took that assignment. Povich is an option to join Baltimore when rosters expand to 28 players Tuesday.