Undeniable.
That word sums up a career night for a player who was ranked No. 1 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects list prior to this season.
Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson collected four hits, including a pair of home runs in the first four innings, and five RBIs in a 14-1 thrashing of the Yankees on Thursday night in The Bronx.
The second-year major leaguer tied a career high by scoring three runs and notched the first multi-homer game of his career as one of many who took advantage of a Yankees’ pitching corps that allowed 20 hits.
The last time a major leaguer had four hits and two home runs in the first four innings of a contest was July 2018, when first baseman Matt Carpenter, then with the Cardinals, did it against the Cubs.
Before Thursday, Henderson had been rather pedestrian at the plate in the series with three hits and a run in 15 at-bats, not to mention one errant throw to first that plunked a YES cameraman and landed him in the emergency room Wednesday.
But Henderson erased his slow series at the plate with a historic night.
The 22-year-old said that though he was in the midst of a special night — his first at-bat produced a 350-foot home run — he believed every time at the plate was business as usual.
“I just felt like I was sticking to my approach and no matter what they’re throwing, sticking to it, and really trusting myself with that,” Henderson said. “I had a lot of good at-bats and the game wasn’t even halfway over. Today, everything was falling.”
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said Henderson’s special performance showed why the team took a chance on him in the second round of the 2019 draft.
“I thought it was amazing,” Hyde said. “He’s got so much power and to go opposite field the way he did at the top of the first, he’s clearly an exciting young player.
“You have to [keep confidence] with young players and even though the numbers didn’t show it, there were signs that good things were going to happen. He’s a great kid, and he has worked extremely hard to try and figure it out. He’s swinging the bat really well right now.”
Though Henderson will most likely not duplicate this type of performance next time out, Orioles fans have something to be excited about in his potential to become a star.
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