Baltimore is right in the thick of the American League wild-card race and Gunnar Henderson is heating up in time for the final stretch.
The Orioles shortstop went deep for the first time since Aug. 14 with a pair of homers in Sunday’s 8-5 win at the Athletics and finished 4-for-4 with a triple and five RBIs. He brings that momentum into the opener of a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies on Monday in Denver.
Colorado will send right-hander Tanner Gordon (1-4, 5.38 ERA) to the mound. The Orioles did not immediately name a starter.
An All-Star in 2024, Henderson has not produced at that level for most of 2026. He was batting .214 in mid-August but a pair of four-hit games has raised the average to .223 heading into the series at hitter-friendly Coors Field.
His recent surge has coincided with the team’s rise in the standings. Baltimore has won seven of its last nine games following a sweep of the Athletics, and sits one game back of Cleveland for the final playoff berth.
The Orioles were scuffling after losing four in a row before this recent success, and it has given them confidence going into the final month of the season.
“We’ve done such a good job of not pressing and panicking and trying to do too much,” said right-hander Shane Baz, who got the win in Saturday night’s victory over the A’s.
“It’s fun to be in this spot. I think we have all the tools to make a run. We’ve got great leadership. We’ve got a great team with a lot of talent.”
There was a scary moment in Sunday’s win, as Pete Alonso was hit in the brim of the helmet by a fastball. He came out of the game as a precaution but was moving around the dugout without issue.
Rockies rookie Cole Carrigg won’t be in the starting lineup Monday and didn’t start in Sunday’s loss at Atlanta, although he was used as a pinch hitter in the seventh and played in the outfield the rest of the game.
Manager Warren Schaeffer sat Carrigg on Sunday, one day after he gave the middle finger to Braves fans after he failed to make a diving catch on a two-run double in the eighth by Michael Harris II.
“Cole made a mistake — he knows that is an embarrassment to the organization and that we don’t stand for that,” Schaeffer said Sunday. “Listen, everybody makes mistakes. It’s just one that he has to learn from. It’s just that we will not put up with that here.
“So he is going to sit a couple days, because he’s a guy that wants to play every day. That’s the repercussions of this.”
Gordon, who has never faced Baltimore, is tasked with stopping Colorado’s slide. The Rockies were swept in Atlanta and have lost four in a row and 11 of 13 since finishing 5-4 on a road trip two weeks ago.
Gordon recorded his first win of the season on Wednesday after allowing one run on six hits in seven innings of a 13-1 romp over the Washington Nationals.
–Field Level Media
