What happened? Gunnar Henderson set the tone by leading off the bottom of the first with his major league-leading 15th home run, starter Corbin Burnes had another dominant performance and the Orioles cruised to a 6-3 win over the AL West-leading Seattle Mariners on Sunday at Camden Yards.
The Orioles (29-15) took two of three games over the weekend, marking their 10th series win of the year. They have not lost a series since April 26th-28th vs. Oakland. They trail the New York Yankees (33-15) by two games in the American League East.
It was the third consecutive game in which Henderson has homered. The Orioles have three leadoff homers in their last four games, with Jordan Westburg connecting on Wednesday.
“That’s 15 homers in less than two months from a guy that’s in his second full year in the big leagues,” manager Brandon Hyde said about Henderson. “It’s pretty amazing. Not only that, but the shortstop defense he plays. Stolen base today. The all-around game. He’s a really fun player to watch. He’s one of the best players in this game right now and he’s dangerous at the plate.”
Staked with an early 5-1 lead, Burnes was locked in, allowing one run and seven hits over six innings. He tied a season-high with 11 strikeouts — his most since Opening Day and four shy of his career high. Burnes received more than two runs of run support for the first time since April 20th at Kansas City.
“It kind of frees you up to keep attacking hitters,” Burnes said about pitching with the lead. “The name of my game is to get after it to get strike one and get ahead. When you get an early lead, you can do it until you get to two strikes and keep throwing in the zone. It’s kind of nice, but this offense beat up some pretty good pitchers this weekend, in general.”
Ryan O’Hearn also hit his sixth home run — a 399-foot shot to right-center — that boosted the lead to 4-1 in the third. Third baseman Jordan Westburg batted second for the first time and went 1 for 4 with a run scored. Cedric Mullins, Jorge Mateo and Henderson each stole their seventh base of the season.
How impressive was Burnes? Burnes (4-2) has been effective in each of his 10 starts. His only mistake against Seattle was allowing a two-out single to Luis Urías that cut the lead to 2-1 in the second.
Burnes also worked his way out of several jams. After allowing a lead-off double to Mitch Haniger in the fourth, Burnes struck out the next three batters.
“The curveball and slider were good today,” Burnes said. “The changeup was below average. There’s still a lot of room for improvement on the cutter. The misses today were in a better spot. You’re not leaving balls over the plate.”
Is Kimbrel the closer again? Craig Kimbrel, who lost his job as the closer after failing to convert four of five save opportunities, returned to that role and picked up his ninth save with a pair of strikeouts. It was his first time in a save situation since May 8th at Washington. He also earned his 426th career save.
“I know he was itching to get out there on the mound,” Hyde said. “It was great seeing him go three up, three down today.”
Before Kimbrel got the ball, Jacob Webb pitched in the seventh and allowed a lead-off walk to Dylan Moore and an RBI double to Urías that cut the lead to 5-2. Webb was replaced by Cole Irvin, who was moved to the bullpen when Grayson Rodriguez returned to the starting rotation. Irvin induced a double play before allowing an RBI single to Julio Rodríguez.
Is Mullins getting back on track? One day after snapping an 0-for-17 skid with a bunt single, Mullins picked up two more hits and had two RBIs. He also earned his 100th career stolen base in the third. He appears to be finding more rhythm at the plate and his defense has been stellar.
Has Mateo solidified his role as an everyday player? Mateo continues to be a spark at the bottom of the lineup and superb on defense at second base. He singled, stole second and took third on a throwing error by Seby Zavala. Mateo then scored on a double by James McCann that booted the lead to 3-1 in the second. In addition, Mateo had another defensive gem when he took a relay throw from Colton Cower and threw Cal Raleigh out at the plate in the third.
How impressive is Henderson’s power? One night after hitting a 410-foot homer over the 13-foot left-field wall, Henderson drove another ball 422 feet over the center-field wall. Henderson has led off the game with a home run five times this season. Henderson also singled in the fourth and stole his seventh base. With 15 homers in 44 games, Henderson is on pace for 55 homers this season.
“Who would say they don’t want to be at the top with home runs in the major leagues?” Henderson said. “I am just going out there and trying to help the team win and if homers come with it, so be it.”
Is Colton Cowser heating up? Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser collected three hits for the first time since April 11th and is batting .277. He provided a 2-0 lead in the first with an infield single. Over the last month, Cowser was mired in a 7-for-55 slump, but he has six hits in his last three games. He also reached base safely nine times in 12 plate appearances in the series against Seattle. Cowser also made an outstanding diving catch in the eighth on a hard liner by Luke Raley.
What’s happening with Anthony Santander’s injured knee? Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander was held out of the lineup after bruising his left knee when he collided with the right-field wall on Wednesday. The knee, which has some swelling, doesn’t bother him when he hits, but there is discomfort when he plays the outfield. “The knee’s feeling OK,” he said. “It’s still swollen and bruised. A couple more days it’s going to be fine.”
What’s next? The Orioles begin a three-game series at St. Louis Monday night. Probable starting pitchers are Dean Kremer (3-3, 3.72) for the Orioles and Sonny Gray (5-2, 3.05) for the Cardinals.