MINNEAPOLIS -- The Orioles wasted barely any time before they started hitting balls over the outfield walls of Target Field against Twins right-hander Bailey Ober on Tuesday night.
Pete Alonso swatted a two-run home run before an out was recorded in the top of the first inning, then Gunnar Henderson (second inning) and Christian Encarnacion-Strand (third) also went deep to power Baltimore to a 5-2 win over Minnesota. It was a needed bounce-back victory for the O’s (58-62), who will look to take the series on Wednesday afternoon.
In honor of the three homers, here are three fun facts from the Orioles’ strong showing.
1. It was the first time the O’s homered in each of the first three innings in more than two years
Before Tuesday, the Orioles hadn’t achieved this feat since June 16, 2024, when Henderson, Colton Cowser and Adley Rutschman all went deep off Zack Wheeler in an 8-3 win over the Phillies at Camden Yards.
But Baltimore pounced on Ober, who gave up three homers in only one of his previous 17 starts this season (May 30 at Pittsburgh). After Henderson opened the game with a single, Alonso followed with his team-high 26th home run of the year.
Henderson then followed with a two-run homer of his own the next inning, as his 19th long ball of the season pushed the O’s early lead to 4-0.
“It was awesome,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “Obviously, when we come out and score in the top of the first, it’s usually a good thing. Our guys were aggressive, but also, they did a good job of laying off some tough pitches.”
2. It was the third time Henderson and Alonso have homered in the same game in 2026
The only previous two occurrences of this happening during their first season as O’s teammates were June 19 (a 6-5 loss at the Dodgers) and July 11 (a 6-1 win vs. the Royals). But the star duo combined for a big night from the top two spots of the lineup.
Henderson and Alonso each collected three hits, with the former finishing a triple shy of a cycle.
Alonso has been carrying the Orioles’ offense at times of late, as he homered twice in Sunday’s win at Texas and has often been the club’s most consistent contributor. Henderson, however, has had a tough year, and especially of late, as the 25-year-old entered Tuesday amid a 14-game homerless drought and mired in a 1-for-24 slump.
“I felt like it’s been a long time coming. I felt like I had a lot of good swings recently and hit some balls hard and just had nothing to show for it, obviously. So to finally get one felt like a little bit of a relief,” said Henderson, who is hitting .216 with a .688 OPS through 119 games. “I was having to get my stamina back out there on the bases, because I haven’t really been out there very much.”
Nobody in Baltimore’s clubhouse was surprised to see these results finally come.
“He’s Gunnar Henderson. He can be an absolute beast,” said right-hander Brandon Young, who allowed two runs (one earned) in six innings.
“We know Gunnar, he’s a baller,” Encarnacion-Strand said.
3. Encarnacion-Strand’s Statcast-projected 460-foot homer was the O’s longest of the season
Not only was Encarnacion-Strand’s massive home run the longest by an Orioles hitter this year, it was the longest since Jordan Westburg’s 461-footer on July 5, 2025, at Atlanta.
Encarnacion-Strand, who also tallied three hits, has been a surprise contributor since getting called up immediately after the All-Star break. The 26-year-old hit three homers over his first five games played for Baltimore last month, but he hadn’t gone deep since July 24 against the Braves, which had also been his most recent multihit performance.
“It’s definitely a good feeling,” Encarnacion-Strand said of carving out a role with the O’s. “It’s unfortunate we were down guys [due to injuries] and that’s how I came up, but I’m glad I can help in that way now that I’m up here.”
While Encarnacion-Strand has had plenty of impressive swings over the past month, the 460-foot homer may end up being his most memorable.
“Gosh, that was an awesome homer,” Henderson said. “That was a pretty sweet moment.”
“I've been here quite a few times and I have yet to see a righty go where he went, so that was a really impressive swing,” Albernaz added. “He has it in him.”