ST. PETERSBURG -- Gunnar Henderson is finally looking like Gunnar Henderson again. And if the Orioles are going to make a run to the postseason, that’s something they badly need.
Baltimore’s star shortstop had a huge game at Tropicana Field on Friday night, lifting his team to a series-opening 6-5 win over the Rays. Henderson went 4-for-4 with a pair of singles, a double and a two-run home run in the eighth inning that helped seal the victory.
For so much of the season, Henderson hasn’t looked like the player who was among the best in the American League from 2023-25. Entering Tuesday, the 25-year-old was hitting .212 with a .675 OPS through 118 games played. He’s been tough on himself and candid throughout all of it, even stating once in late June that this year has been “probably one of the most frustrating things I’ve ever been through.”
“You don’t really, obviously, want to think you’re going to go through bad times. But until you’re in it, you don’t really understand it,” said Henderson, whose OPS has gone up to .705. “There were definitely some long nights trying to find ways to get out of it, a lot of video watching and stuff.
“But at the end of the day, it was more or less just clearing my mind and getting back to kind of how I get out there and play. That’s just with my hair on fire, and having a clear mind is a big part, and being able to just go out there and focus on the job at hand.”
Henderson was hitting in the No. 5 hole in the lineup, the first time he’s batted below third this season. Baltimore stacked the top third of its order with right-handed sluggers against Tampa Bay opener Steven Matz -- including Pete Alonso, who hit leadoff for the first time in his MLB career -- which resulted in Henderson moving down slightly.
It was the first time Henderson hit lower than fourth in the O’s lineup since Sept. 28, 2023, when he batted sixth in a 2-0 win over the Red Sox.
Teammates and coaches have never doubted that Henderson would return to form.
“The work he's been putting in is really starting to show,” manager Craig Albernaz said.
“I have a lot of respect for Gunnar, the way that he’s handled these last couple months,” added right-hander Chris Bassitt, who allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings. “I know he’s not playing to what he holds himself to by any means, but the guy grinds every day, works hard every day.
"So it’s hard for me to say I’d want anyone over him, because he just has the attributes that you need to be a really, really good player for a long time. I’m happy that he’s obviously getting rewarded for what he’s doing. But again, I think it’s just kind of him falling back into himself."
Colton Cowser also homered for the Orioles, who took a 4-2 lead on Dylan Beavers’ pinch-hit two-run single in the seventh. An inning later, Henderson followed with his Statcast-projected 400-foot home run, his 20th of the year, to push the advantage to 6-2.
The Rays scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth, but right-hander Cam Sanders came in and recorded a one-pitch save, getting Ryan Vilade to fly out to end the game.
The Orioles (59-63) are at a critical juncture in their season. They are still in the thick of the crowded AL Wild Card picture -- they're only one game out of a playoff spot entering Saturday -- and Friday marked their first of 10 straight games against the Rays and Yankees, the top two teams in the AL.
“Any time you can beat an AL East opponent, and particularly when they’re ahead of you, it’s always big,” Henderson said. “But especially for us, we need every game at this point of the year.”