Henderson, Urias Power Orioles Past Guardians 4-0

Photo by Anna Haberstro

CLEVELAND – After a 5-1 victory over the Orioles on Tuesday night, the Guardians looked to win the series on Wednesday. They entered the game still with a 1.5 game lead over the Minnesota Twins for first place in the AL Central division. Baltimore was looking for outside help as well sitting 3 games behind the final wild-card spot. For Baltimore, highly regarded prospect Gunnar Henderson was set to make the most of his major league debut. 

Offensive Lulls

After scoring 5 runs in Tuesday’s game, the Guardians did not scratch out a single run in Wednesday’s effort. The Guardians tallied 5 hits in the losing effort. They were also walked 3 times and reached on an error once. They left a total of 7 men on base and hit into a pair of double plays during the game. 

Gunnar’s Grand Welcome

On Wednesday morning, the Baltimore Orioles called up their #1 prospect Gunnar Henderson. Throughout the year between Double-A and Triple-A, Henderson slashed .297/.416/.531 with 19 home runs and 76 RBIs. To lead off the 4^th inning, Henderson took a pitch from Triston McKenzie and sent it into the right-center field seats for a home run. This was his first career hit and home run all in one swing. He would also record a single later in the game. He ended his MLB debut with a 2-4 performance. 

O’s Outstanding Performance

The Baltimore Orioles played a great all-around game on Wednesday night. Their starting pitcher Jordan Lyles went 6.2 innings giving up 4 hits, walking 3 batters, and striking out 2. His first strikeout of the night gave him his 1,000^th career strikeout. The bullpen followed with 3.1 innings of 1-hit baseball. On top of the pitching and Gunnar Henderson’s incredible debut, Baltimore’s offense was on point from the jump. They tallied at least 1 hit in each of the first 4 innings off Triston McKenzie. Ramon Urias also tallied on a 2-out 2-run homerun in the 8^th inning that gave Baltimore a 4-0 lead.

Rubber Match

The final game of the series starts Thursday night at 6:10PM EST on Ball Sports Ohio and WTAM 1100. Shane Bieber will be toeing the rubber for the Guardians against Kyle Bradish of the Orioles. Both teams look to fight as they continue their journey to October baseball.