The Orioles' cornerstone piece is on pace to crush his 2025 homer total.
Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson was productive in 2025, but his home runs were lacking. That hasn't been the case so far in 2026.
Henderson walloped his sixth homer of the year in the bottom of the third inning of Saturday's 6-2 win over the San Francisco Giants. The 24-year-old entered the game tied for first in baseball with five homers, and he's now tied atop the list with six alongside Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez and St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker.
Henderson also has a .962 OPS through 14 games, which ranks 18th, and he's tied for 15th with 12 RBIs.
Although Henderson slashed .274/.349/.438 over 154 games last year, he logged just 17 homers and 68 RBIs. The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder is now hitting more like he did in his 2024 All-Star campaign, when he slashed .281/.364/.529 with 37 homers and 92 RBIs across 159 contests.
Henderson's solo homer on Saturday, which he hit off of Giants ace Logan Webb, gave the Orioles a 2-1 lead. The Alabama native pulled a 91-mile-per-hour cutter on the high and inside corner into the right field seats. The ball traveled 361 feet.
Orioles Get Back to .500 With Rubber Match Approaching
Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jeremiah Jackson (82). © Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn ImagesBaltimore fell 6-3 to San Francisco to start its homestand on Friday after sweeping the Chicago White Sox on the road. However, the Orioles took a two-run lead in the fourth inning on Saturday, and the Giants couldn't come back.
Heliot Ramos hit an RBI single off of Chris Bassitt for San Francisco in the second to kick off the scoring, but Colton Cowser knotted the score at 1-1 with an RBI groundout in the bottom frame. Henderson then hit his solo homer in the third before Ramos tied the game back up with an RBI groundout in the fourth.
Coby Mayo then plated Leody Taveras in the bottom frame before Jeremiah Jackson hit an RBI double to make the score 4-2. The latter player then hit a solo homer in the seventh, and Mayo hit an RBI single in the eighth.
Bassitt finished with two runs allowed (one earned) on seven hits over 4.2 innings, and Baltimore's bullpen pitched a shutout for the remainder of the game. Southpaw reliever Grant Wolfram earned his first win of the season after finishing the fifth inning and getting the first two outs of the sixth.
Up next for the Orioles is a rubber match with the Giants on Sunday at 1:35 p.m. ET. Southpaw pitcher Cade Povich will start for them.