Leadoff HR in 2nd straight game ignites O's 5-run 1st, runaway win

BALTIMORE -- After batting leadoff in each of the first 40 games of the Orioles’ season, Gunnar Henderson slid down to the cleanup spot on Wednesday. Jordan Westburg moved into the No. 1 hole for the first time in his MLB career and promptly hit a leadoff home run vs. the Blue Jays.

“Just trying to do my best Gunnar Henderson impression right there,” Westburg later joked.

No impersonations were necessary Friday night. Following Thursday’s off-day, Henderson returned to his leadoff role and immediately got back to slugging leadoff dingers.

Henderson began the bottom of the first inning with a home run off Mariners right-hander Bryce Miller, jump-starting a five-run opening frame for the Orioles in their 9-2 victory at Camden Yards. It was Henderson’s 13th homer of the year -- tied with the Astros’ Kyle Tucker and the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani for the MLB lead -- and his fourth to come in leadoff fashion.

“It’s just trying to get the offense going,” said Henderson, who went 2-for-5 and added an RBI triple in a four-run seventh. “It’s really nice to be able to do it early and get that first one out of the way.”

Baltimore hadn’t hit leadoff homers in back-to-back games since June 28-29, 2002, when Melvin Mora went deep to open the bottom of the first in consecutive contests against the Phillies at Camden Yards.

The O’s hadn’t had back-to-back leadoff home runs with each coming from a different player since June 22-23, 1988, when Pete Stanicek and Ken Gerhart opened consecutive contests vs. the Blue Jays at Exhibition Stadium with homers.

After Henderson’s homer on Friday, the next five Baltimore batters reached base without Miller recording an out. A run scored on an error by Seattle shortstop Dylan Moore, then Colton Cowser hit a bases-loaded two-run double. Westburg’s sac fly capped the five-run rally.

“We took a lot of really good at-bats in the first inning,” manager Brandon Hyde said.

The early offense was more than enough support for Orioles starter John Means, who allowed two runs in six innings in his third start since opening the season on the injured list with a left forearm strain. He earned his first win at Camden Yards since April 25, 2021, ending his streak of winless home starts at 14.

Means gave up three hits in the first, when the Mariners took a quick lead on Mitch Garver’s one-out RBI single. But the 31-year-old left-hander retired 16 of the final 19 batters he faced -- his only other blemish being a solo homer by Moore in the fifth -- as he cruised once his teammates got him a lead.

“It’s unbelievable,” Means said. “Give up one in the top and then get five in the bottom -- can’t ask for anything more than that.”

On the other side, Miller didn’t allow any runs after the first in his 5 1/3-inning outing. It was an uncharacteristic start for the right-hander, who entered with a 2.66 ERA. Over his previous eight starts this season, Miller didn’t allow any runs in the first inning, as batters were 2-for-25 vs. the 25-year-old in opening frames.

The Orioles went 4-for-7 against Miller in the first on Friday.

“I think I missed a few spots and they put them in play and things happened,” Miller said.

“I felt like we just stuck to the plan that we went up there with and didn’t sway away from it too much,” Henderson said. “We all put together our processes and just put together good, lengthy at-bats.”

Expect more leadoff homers from Baltimore in the future. The streak may even continue into the weekend.

If it’s Henderson atop the order, the defending American League Rookie of the Year has shown what he can do up there. The 22-year-old has hit a leadoff homer in six of his 82 career games in the No. 1 spot.

But Westburg can handle the assignment, too. In the Minors, the 25-year-old was a .325 (81-for-249) hitter from the leadoff spot. Of course, this year, he’s thriving from anywhere in the lineup, batting .295 in 40 games.

“I pride myself on being pretty flexible like that, being like a Swiss Army knife,” Westburg said. “I’m open to being in that spot if that’s what Hyde wants me to do against lefties, or if Gunnar needs a day off. I don’t mind. I’ll get more comfortable in that role.”

Hyde has said he wants his leadoff hitter to be a player with a high on-base percentage, a high OPS and some speed. Henderson (.339, .908, six stolen bases) and Westburg (.346, .869, five steals) both fit the bill.

“We have a bunch of good hitters that can hit leadoff,” Hyde said.

And -- as the past two games have shown -- hitters who especially can excel leading off the game in particular.