Gunnar Henderson Hits 10th Home Run in Orioles’ Win
WASHINGTON (AP) — Gunnar Henderson hit his 10th home run of the season and went 4 for 5 with two RBIs, leading the Baltimore Orioles to a 7-3 victory over the Washington Nationals on Sunday. The win prevented the Nationals from sweeping the series.
Henderson launched his first-pitch home run in the first inning off starter Richard Lovelady, giving the Orioles an early 1-0 lead. In the ninth inning, he added another RBI with a double, securing his fifth career four-hit game.
Coby Mayo got things going for Baltimore with a two-run homer in the second inning, putting the Orioles up 3-0. Pete Alonso followed with a sacrifice fly in the third to extend the lead to 4-1.
Colton Cowser hit his first home run since September 23 against the Rays, a two-run shot in the fourth inning that made it 6-1. It was also his first hit off a breaking ball this season.
Orioles pitcher Anthony Nunez entered the game in the fourth inning with the bases loaded and no outs. He struck out Luis García Jr. to preserve the lead, then got two more strikeouts in the fifth inning for the win. Starting pitcher Brandon Young pitched 3 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits.
Yennier Cano pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and Rico Garcia closed out the game in the ninth. This was Garcia’s second hit allowed in 20 innings.
Nationals’ Jacob Young hit his fifth homer of the season to cut the lead to 3-1 in the second inning. He had previously homered just once in 303 games during the season.
Keibert Ruiz added a sacrifice fly, and CJ Abrams scored a run off Orioles pitcher Tyler Wells in two innings of work.
The Orioles had struggled to score in the first two games of the series but broke through with runs in four straight innings early in this game, their best start of the season.
Looking ahead, Orioles’ left-hander Trevor Rogers was set to start Monday night against the Tampa Bay Rays, while the Nationals were yet to announce their starting pitcher for their game against the New York Mets.