The at-bats leading up to the sixth inning for Gunnar Henderson were promising, displaying the plate discipline that has made him such a standout player despite being the youngest in baseball. But with a crack that split the late evening chatter at Fenway Park, Henderson’s resounding swing broke him out of the first slump he has experienced in the majors.
Henderson clobbered a home run to straightaway center field Monday night, a two-run bomb that went 428 feet and left his bat at 111.1 mph — the hardest-hit ball of his career. The blast was part of the offensive onslaught before and after a 100-minute rain delay from the Orioles in a 14-8 win against the Boston Red Sox, starting the final road trip of the season on a positive note.
Henderson had entered that at-bat on an 0-for-16 skid, but his plate appearances had been strong; he walked three times earlier in the game before coming to the plate and wowing in the sixth. The rookie sent his fourth homer 428 feet off right-hander Kaleb Ort.
