WASHINGTON — More so than the speed Gunnar Henderson showed as he rounded the bases, and more so than the ball slipping out of left fielder César Hernández’s grasp on his throw, perhaps the most surprising thing about the play that broke Wednesday night’s game open was that Henderson never lost his helmet.
In the Orioles rookie’s first marquee moment in the major leagues, that helmet gave way to his blonde locks, either by the sheer force of his swing or the speed of his legs. But in the seventh inning at Nationals Park on Wednesday, Henderson chugged and the helmet remained — all the way from the batter’s box, around first, second and third, and into home plate about 15 seconds later.
Baltimore needed a spark against Washington, having staggered through six innings against left-hander Patrick Corbin. Against the Nationals’ bullpen, however, the Orioles immediately broke through, with Henderson’s hard-hit triple down the third base line propelling Baltimore to a 6-2 win to keep pace in the race toward the final American League wild-card spot. With the victory, the Orioles are four games back of the Tampa Bay Rays heading into a three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays, although the Rays own the tiebreaker over Baltimore.
