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.
“Our guys, they didn't waver in the clubhouse,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “They know they're putting good swings on it and barreling up the ball and hitting it hard. You hope eventually they'll also find some holes, and today, we did.”
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. Let’s dive into where each of these three youngsters now stands.
Henderson: The needed tone-setter
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.
“How Gunnar goes and how he's doing is usually how we go, too,” Albernaz said. “Not to take credit away from a lot of great hitters in our lineup, but with Gunnar doing what he did right there, he set the tone. That was a pretty majestic home run.”
Henderson has been a bit of a slow starter during his five-year MLB career, but his bat typically heats up with the weather. And now, it appears to be happening again.
“It was starting to get frustrating, I’m not going to lie, because you feel good and then it’s like, ‘All right, well the hits are supposed to come,’” said Henderson, who is now hitting .214 with a .692 OPS. “But baseball’s just a funny game. You’ve just got to stick with it."
Mayo: The slugger on the rise?
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.
“I know I didn't play my best baseball early this season. At times, I showed little flashes of it,” Mayo said. “I feel good right now, which is nice.”
Cowser: The potential boost to the outfield
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.
“I’ve been feeling great. I feel like it’s just been working really hard in the cage and just really trying to instill some confidence that hasn’t been showing up from the results and just trusting the process,” Cowser said. “I’ve been feeling really comfortable and just trying to stack quality at-bats.”