The Orioles found a different spot for Gunnar Henderson on Friday, and it paid off in a big way.
Dropped to fifth in the order for the first time since 2023, Henderson answered with his sharpest all-around offensive night of the season, going 4-for-5 with a double, three singles, two runs scored and a two-run homer in the eighth inning as Baltimore beat Tampa Bay 6-5 at Tropicana Field. The win came against the AL’s best team and kept the Orioles at 59-63.
“It was definitely weird not having to be ready for the first three batters,” Henderson, batting fifth for the first time since 2023, told the MASN broadcast after the game. “Alby put me in there and I’ll do anything to help the team win.”
For months, Henderson had been stuck in the leadoff role even as his numbers slid to a .200 average, an on-base percentage below .300 and a .675 OPS. On Friday, after a day off and with a crucial series underway in Tampa, Baltimore finally moved him down in the lineup and got the version of Henderson the Orioles have been waiting to see.
His homer, his 20th of the season, came with two outs in the eighth and pushed the lead to 6-2. He also scored twice and used the whole field throughout the night. It was his second four-hit game of the season.
The Orioles got production from several spots in the order. Pete Alonso, in the leadoff spot for the first time in his career, had two hits. Rookie Dylan Beavers delivered a go-ahead pinch-hit, and Chris Bassitt gave Baltimore far more than expected in his return to the rotation.
Bassitt, a 36-year-old starter who had been out since early June and had been rough before landing on the 60-day injured list, worked 5 1/3 innings. He allowed five hits, three walks and two runs, but he kept the game from slipping away when the Rays threatened. In the second inning, with the bases loaded, he got Yandy Diaz to pop up and then retired Jonathan Aranda on a flyout to escape the jam.
“Getting us to the sixth inning, couldn’t ask for anything more,” Albernaz said of Bassitt.
The Rays tied it at 2 in the third on Victor Mesa Jr.’s single, but Bassitt otherwise limited the damage and handed things to the bullpen after a long enough outing to help Baltimore. The Orioles’ relief work held until the ninth, when Yennier Cano nearly let the game get away before Cam Sanders came in and got the save on a game-ending flyout after one pitch.
"We like Cam coming in there and Cam did a great job," Albernaz said.
Tampa Bay was forced to piece the game together with seven pitchers. Steven Matz handled the first inning, Jesse Scholtens took the second and Garrett Cleavinger, a former Oriole, took the loss after Beavers’ two-run pinch-hit single to right in the seventh. Tyler Wells, another former Oriole, also appeared for the Rays.
Baltimore scored first on a Christian Encarnacion-Strand sacrifice fly, then Colton Cowser added his 10th homer of the season in the third. Cedric Mullins, now with Tampa Bay, helped keep the Rays in it with a remarkable catch near the center-field wall in the sixth, but the Orioles broke through in the seventh after Henderson led off with a double. Jeremiah Jackson was intentionally walked, the bases were loaded, and Beavers drove in two with his pinch-hit single.
"I feel like I've been seeing the ball, and it was just a matter of a tweak here or there," Henderson said.
“He’s doing a great job of managing at bats,” Albernaz said of Henderson.
The Orioles needed the insurance, and Henderson provided it. The win gave them a rare result against a franchise that has made life difficult for Mike Elias since 2019, and it came with three games left on this 10-game trip before the Yankees and Rays head to Baltimore.
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