O's young core steps up in power department with 3 early HRs

WASHINGTON -- For the Orioles’ offense to eventually reach its full potential in 2026, the club needs more members of its young core to step up, more so than they have thus far.

Three key players did just that to lift Baltimore to a much-needed win on Sunday afternoon.

Gunnar Henderson, Coby Mayo and Colton Cowser all homered as the O’s avoided getting swept with a 7-3 win over the Nationals in the finale of a three-game series at Nationals Park. The trio of long balls all came within the first four innings, as the Orioles -- who have often struggled to score early this season -- built a lead too large for the Nats to overcome.

Baltimore (21-26) also avoided falling to a season-worst seven games below .500 and built a bit of positive momentum before opening a three-game set against American League East-leading Tampa Bay (30-15) on Monday night at Tropicana Field.

Henderson, Mayo and Cowser have all had slow offensive starts. However, each of them is now showing signs of heating up.

Entering Sunday with a .199 average and a .649 OPS, Henderson collected a season-high four hits during the finale in Washington. The 24-year-old shortstop gave the O’s a quick 1-0 lead, swatting a left-on-left homer off Nationals opener Richard Lovelady -- a massive blast that landed in the third deck in right field.

It was Henderson’s team-high 10th home run, but his first since April 26, as he ended a 17-game homer drought.

Mayo pushed Baltimore’s advantage to 3-0 with a no-doubt two-run homer to left field in the second. The 24-year-old third baseman nearly hit a game-tying home run in the seventh inning of Saturday’s 13-3 loss -- and he clearly thought he did, based on his emphatic bat toss -- but it hooked just foul. This time, Mayo gently sat down his lumber before enjoying a home-run trot.

Over Mayo’s past nine games, he is hitting .296 (8-for-27) with two homers and six RBIs, raising his average to .185 and his OPS to .603 for the season.

Cowser’s two-run home run in the fourth extended the Orioles’ lead to 6-1. Not only was it the 26-year-old outfielder’s first homer of the year, but it was his first hit off a breaking pitch, as he deposited a 1-1 slider from right-hander Miles Mikolas over the right-field wall. (Cowser was previously 0-for-24 with 14 strikeouts against breaking offerings this season.)

With Dylan Beavers (right oblique strain) set to miss some time, Cowser has an opportunity to earn increased playing time if he can get going. He was 2-for-22 (.091) over his previous 12 games entering Sunday -- a stretch during which he made only six starts -- and he is hitting .173 with a .504 OPS for the year.