Gunnar launches first Camden Yards home run

BALTIMORE -- With each passing day, Gunnar Henderson is showing not just why he generated so much hype as the Orioles' top prospect and one of the best in the game, he's showing that he can carry an offense.

So when he hammered his first homer at Camden Yards in the seventh inning on Tuesday night, both he and his teammates thought it was the fomentation of a comeback. When he came back up in the ninth inning facing a one-run deficit, those on hand thought he might have another big moment to provide.

But the magic ran dry, for him in the moment, and perhaps for the Orioles at this juncture.

Henderson's homer was an uplifting moment on a night without much else of that ilk for the Orioles, who fell, 3-2, to the Tigers, to drop their 10th game in their last 15 tries. Postseason hopes continue to fade, with the Orioles five games back of the third and final AL Wild Card spot with just 15 left to play.

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"We're putting in the work every day, and it's just a matter of time before we get it going again," Henderson said. "Any way I can help the team win is what I'm going to try and ultimately do. I know we're gonna get it going here pretty soon. I'm not worried about it at all."

Henderson has been doing his best to try and will the Orioles back to their winning ways. Since his debut on Aug. 31, he's batted in 14 runs after his two-run homer on Tuesday night. In that span, the Orioles have amassed 67 runs.

So put it this way: Henderson is responsible for over 20 percent of the Orioles' offense since he arrived.

"It's incredible," said manager Brandon Hyde. "Youngest player in the league, to be able to control the strike zone, take the swings. … To be able to get his foot down and get that swing on a heater there, that's impressive."

Such rampant success -- three home runs, a .319 average and a .938 OPS through 19 games -- may surprise onlookers, and it may surprise the Orioles. But it doesn't surprise Henderson.

"From a young age, this is what I wanted to do," said Henderson, still just 21. "When I got here, there was no pressure. Just trying to help the team win. I felt like that takes all the pressure off, because you're just trying to do one goal."

Henderson helped with another goal on Tuesday night, sort of. In the fifth inning, both he and close friend Adley Rutschman homed in on a popup just up the third-base line. Neither making a firm call for the ball, they avoided a near collision but saw the ball bounce off Rutschman's glove. The catcher ultimately tumbled to the ground with his arm outstretched to make the catch.

A play like that -- as well as a run-saving relay in the frame capped off by a great tag from Rutschman and a jaw-dropping snag from Jorge Mateo in the eighth -- were key to give Baltimore a chance on Tuesday.

"It doesn't surprise me," said Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, bred in the Astros' organization with Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias. "I know the staff over there, what they're trying to do to get their guys to make plays like that, and their young guys did it tonight and obviously kept the game close."

But that defense wasn't enough with the offense unable to come up with another big hit. Baltimore is now winless against Detroit in five tries this season, scoring just five runs across the affairs.

A different fate in those games would have the Orioles in a more promising position than they find themselves. But with the talent they possess, with Henderson doing what he's made a habit of doing, hope doesn't waver.

"I feel like all the teams that we're chasing have hard schedules," said starter Austin Voth. "We have a hard schedule as well. But you know, why not us? Like, we can play hard. If we come to the ballpark and play the way we know we can, I'm [going to] bet on us."