Leftovers for breakfast

ARLINGTON, Texas – Ryan O’Hearn dealt with the disappointment of losing the All-Star vote at designated hitter and failing to make the American League team as a reserve. He enjoyed the time home instead, got some rest and arrived at Globe Life Field ready for the second-half grind.

O’Hearn joined the viewership for the Home Run Derby and the game. He hung on every swing.

“Fun to watch all the way around,” he said yesterday. “Obviously, I would have loved to have been a part of it, but fun for me to watch our guys and pull for our guys, cheer for them on that big stage.”

Gunnar Henderson was the top seed in the Derby with 28 homers but hit only 11, the lowest total in the eight-player field.

O’Hearn has his own Derby experience going back to 2015 in the South Atlantic League while playing for the Lexington Legends in the Royals system.

“I remember I was sore for like three days,” he said.

There’s another memory that’s much nicer - when he defeated Lakewood’s Rhys Hoskins in the final.

“A $500 prize,” he said.

That’s a nice payday for a Class A player.

“It absolutely was,” he said. “That was a big deal.”

* The first half allowed the Orioles to accomplish something that no other team had done, and it involved two of their young infielders.

Henderson and Jordan Westburg were the first duo in major league history to combine for at least 40 doubles, 10 triples and 40 home runs prior to the All-Star break, per STATS.

Henderson contributed 18 doubles, five triples and 28 homers. Westburg had 22 doubles, five triples and 15 homers.

* More STATS: By sending Henderson, Westburg, Adley Rutschman, Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander to the All-Star Game, the Orioles became only the fifth team since 1995 to have a quintet or more under 30 years old.

The 2017 Astros (six players) and Yankees did it, along with the 2021 Brewers and 2023 Braves (eight players).

* I wrote yesterday that Burnes was the only pitcher in the modern era with a career WHIP under 1.00 on the road in a minimum 50 starts. He went into last night’s game at 0.99.

Here are the other names on the list:

Cy Young: 1.00
Shane Bieber: 1.03
Addie Joss: 1.04
Clayton Kershaw: 1.04

Burnes has made 126 career regular-season starts and he’s never walked more batters than he struck out, the second-longest streak in the majors to begin his career in the modern era after Chris Sale’s 208. Burnes had a season-high four walks last night but he also fanned six.

There’s some irony here.

Burnes walked one batter and didn’t record a strikeout in the first inning of Tuesday’s All-Star Game. But he was removed after 19 pitches.

We won’t count it.

* The Orioles went into last night with 50 more home runs than their opponents and their pitchers recorded 51 more strikeouts.

That combination made them only the ninth team in major league history with a plus-50 homer and plus-50 pitching strikeout differential at the break.

They hit four homers last night and struck out 10 batters – six by Burnes, three by Keegan Akin and one by Burch Smith.

* Henderson’s 80 runs scored are the most by an Orioles shortstop through the first 97 games of a season.

Henderson ranks among qualified American League hitters in runs (first), home runs (second with 28), extra-base hits (second with 51) and total bases (second with 223). He’s batting .354 (17-for-48) with two home runs and five RBis over his last 11 games.