Orioles Welcome Gunnar to The Show with a W (8/31/22)
The Baltimore Orioles had a good outing against the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday, August 31st in Gunnar Henderson’s MLB debut. Despite Tuesday’s lackluster lost, the shutout followed up a weekend of excellent starting pitching.
Orioles starting lineup:
- C. Mullins CF, 2. A. Rutschman C, 3. A. Santander RF, 4. R. Urias DH, 5. R. Mountcastle 1B, 6. G. Henderson 3B, 7. A. Hays LF, 8. R. Odor 2B, 9. J. Mateo SS
The starter for Baltimore was Jordan Lyles (9-9, 4.45 ERA, 121 K)
The Guardians starting lineup:
- S. Kwan LF, 2. A. Rosario SS, 3. J. Ramirez 3B, 4. J. Naylor 1B, 5. O. Gonzalez RF, 6. A. Gimenez 2B, 7. R. Palacios DH, 8. L. Malle C, 9. W. Benson CF
Gunnar Henderson wasted no time making his presence felt, homering in his second career Orioles at-bat
The starter for Cleveland was Triston McKenzie (9-10, 3.17 ERA, 142 K)
Ramon Urias walked in the 3rd inning and Rougned Odor scored from third to make it 1-0 Orioles.
In his second Major League at-bat, Gunnar Henderson jacked at 429 foot home run to mark his first home run at the show. The ball was gone just as soon as his helmet fell off.
Nick Sandlin (2.14 ERA) relieved McKenzie in the 6th. The Birds did a great job of working at bats and running up McKenzie’s pitch count so he could only go five.
Sam Hentges (2.96 ERA) came in for Cleveland in the 7th.
Cionel Perez (1.64 ERA) replaced Lyles on the mound. Lyles had a fantastic outing letting up only 4 hits in 6.2 innings. The defense also turned two nifty double plays behind him.
Eli Morgan (4.09 ERA) came in for the Guardians with 1 runner on.
Ramon Urias smacked a 383-foot 2-run home run (15) to give the O’s a 4-0 lead in the 8th. The insurance was much appreciated, but it also wasn’t needed tonight.
Bryan Shaw (5.12 ERA) finished out the game for The Land in the 9th.
Felix Bautista (1.58 ERA) pitched the 9th and had his usual flawless inning.
The same two teams will play the finale tomorrow, September 1st. The game will once again start at 6:10 PM EDT.