Gunnar Henderson looks to continue his torrid hitting when the Baltimore Orioles open a three-game series against the visiting Oakland Athletics on Friday.
The Orioles return home after a road trip that saw them take two out of three from both the Kansas City Royals and Los Angeles Angels. The A’s beat the New York Yankees 3-1 on Thursday to earn a split of a four-game series. Oakland was swept in three games by the host Cleveland Guardians last weekend.
Henderson, the reigning American League Rookie of the Year, picked up where he left off and is now making an early case for American League MVP. He is hitting .309 with eight homers, 20 RBIs and 20 runs scored following a 3-for-3 effort that included a homer on Wednesday against the Angels.
He also has five stolen bases and is tied for the major league lead with three triples.
Henderson, a left-handed hitter, is batting .324 versus left-handed pitching.
“I’ve been making some adjustments,” Henderson said. “I kind of felt like I was getting around to where I wanted to be but still not exactly where I wanted to be. I felt like I made some good improvements in the cage (Wednesday), so I’m making progress.”
In his last 10 games, Henderson is hitting .450 (18-for-40) with five homers, 11 RBIs and 11 runs.
Closer Craig Kimbrel pitched the ninth inning of Baltimore’s 6-5 win on Wednesday and is 3-0 with seven saves and an 0.82 ERA.
The Orioles send ace right-hander Corbin Burnes (3-0, 2.76 ERA) to face right-hander Ross Stripling (0-5, 5.34) in the Friday opener.
Burnes struggled a bit his last time out, allowing three runs on four hits in 5 2/3 innings during a 9-7 win against the Royals on Saturday. He retired 17 of the first 19 batters he faced and gave up a three-run homer to his final batter but got strong support from his offense.
“For the most part … we were able to limit the contact and get some quick outs,” Burnes said. “It was just one pitch there at the end.”
Baltimore is 5-0 in games started by Burnes, who has never faced the A’s.
Oakland, meanwhile, has lost each game started by Stripling, including on Sunday when he allowed three runs on five hits in five innings during a 6-2 loss to the Guardians. He gave up three runs or fewer in three of his five starts.
“I still feel like I could fine-tune a couple things, but overall, I still feel like if I could throw the ball like this, I’m going to have success and keep us in the game like I’ve been able to do for the most part,” Stripling said.
Oakland has scored a total of nine runs in games started by Stripling, who has gone 27 games (16 starts) without a win, dating back to the start of last season.
Stripling is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA in six career games, including three starts, against Baltimore.
On Thursday, Nick Allen and Tyler Nevin homered in the third inning as Oakland slipped past the Yankees. Mason Miller got four outs for his sixth save.
Before the game, the A’s placed second baseman Zack Gelof on the 10-day injured list because of a left oblique strain. He is batting .196 with three home runs and seven RBIs through 24 games.
“He went through his pregame routine and we decided to take a cautious (approach),” Oakland manager Mark Kotsay said.
Darell Hernaiz was promoted from Triple-A Las Vegas to take Gelof’s place, and he went 2-for-2 with a walk, a stolen base and a run on Thursday.
–Field Level Media
