WEST SACRAMENTO -- It’s impressive that the Orioles have made it to this point, just on the outside of the American League postseason picture, without getting the most out of star shortstop Gunnar Henderson.
But if Henderson’s recent play is any indication, there isn’t much of a ceiling for a Baltimore team on the rise.
Henderson powered the Orioles to an 8-5 win over the Athletics on Sunday at Sutter Health Park, completing a three-game sweep to keep his club just one game out of the final AL Wild Card spot.
The shortstop went 4-for-4 with a triple and two home runs, including the go-ahead three-run blast in the fifth inning to officially erase Baltimore’s early 5-1 deficit. He tied career highs with his two homers and five RBIs.
After following up his 2023 Rookie of the Year campaign with an All-Star 2024, finishing fourth in AL MVP voting, Henderson had seen a major downturn in offensive production. His OPS dipped to .787 in 2025 and was just .690 in 2026 entering Sunday.
Still, Henderson had been hitting the ball better in recent weeks, even before socking three balls at over 100 mph in Sunday’s win. He entered the day with a .387 expected wOBA in August, which ranked 10th among all players with 75 or more plate appearances.
In addition to his big day at the plate, Henderson made several key plays on defense to help the Orioles to their first series sweep since July 17-19 in Houston. He scooped up a one-hopper up the middle to strand the bases loaded in the second inning, turned an impressive 6-3 double play in the fifth and made a nice sliding stop and spinning throw to end the sixth.