Fastball

Gunnar Henderson Continued the Historic Start to His Season on Saturday Afternoon

The Baltimore Orioles beat the Oakland Athletics on Saturday afternoon, 7-0, as Gunnar Henderson continued the historic start to his 2024 season.

Brady Farkas

Apr 27, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson (2) hits a two
Apr 27, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson (2) hits a two / Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
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The Baltimore Orioles shut out the Oakland Athletics on Saturday afternoon, 7-0, at Camden Yards. With the win, the reigning American League East champions are now 17-9 on the year. The A's are now 11-17 on the season.

In the win, Orioles' star shortstop Gunnar Henderson continued the historic start to his season by going 2-for-4 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored.

The home run was his ninth of the season.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com on social media:

Gunnar Henderson’s 9 HR are 2 more than any other player age 22 or younger in the team’s first 26 games in Orioles/Browns franchise history

Henderson, who won the American League Rookie of the Year in 2023, is hitting .302 this season with the nine homers and 22 RBI. He's also got six stolen bases and has posted an OPS of 1.003 through the season's first month.

Though all the talk coming into the season was about the potential impact of top prospect Jackson Holliday, Henderson has re-solidified himself as one of the key pillars of the organization.

In addition to Henderson, the O's got homers on Saturday from Adley Rutschman and Ryan Mountcastle.

Baltimore will finish out the series with the Athletics on Sunday afternoon with first pitch coming at 1:35 p.m. ET.

Paul Blackburn pitches for Oakland as he enters the game with a 2-1 record and a 2.03 ERA. Feel-good story Albert Suarez pitches for Baltimore as he is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA.

The Orioles will play the Yankees next for a series beginning on Monday.

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.