Gunnar Henderson on MVP talk, his bat throws after drawing a walk and more

As play began on Friday night in the majors, Gunnar Henderson was once again tied for the MLB homer lead with 18 with Aaron Judge and Kyle Tucker. His OPS of .938 was fourth-best in the AL and seventh in MLB.

He’s scoring runs, stealing bases, bashing baseballs and fielding them very, very well at shortstop. Cal Ripken Jr. once won the American League Rookie of the Year one year and AL MVP the next, in 1982 and 1983.

There is talk of Gunnar being in the MVP race or near the top of such for this season after being ROY last season.

“I just try to go out there and continue to play my game each and every day. The numbers will take care of themselves at the end of the day. Just trying to help the team win and make another postseason run,” Henderson said of the MVP talk.

He led the O’s to a series-clinching win Wednesday over Boston when he hit a grand slam that was his 50^th career homer. Another successful AL East series.

“It’s definitely a bunch of fun teams to play against,” Henderson said of the division games. “And really competitive games every time we play. Yeah, I enjoy the competitive side of the games, it’s right up my alley.

“Any time you can a win a series against a division opponent, that’s a best-case scenario. It’s a long season so we have to try to win as many as we can.

After drawing 21 walks in his last 24 games, Henderson is now among the league leaders in walks with 29. He ranked seventh in the AL heading into the weekend.

And now he is drawing notice for how he fires his bat toward the Baltimore dugout and almost looks angry after getting a walk.

“I mean, I don’t even know where it came from to be honest with you," he said of those bat throws after a walk. "It’s just a habit. I think it kind of stemmed from just how quick the game is going and just trying to, I guess, get to first base as quick as I can. Just help the guy getting the bats, he doesn’t have to run as far. I usually put on two sliding mitts now, so, yeah, the game definitely speeds up on you. So, I try to get there as quick as I can and not have to wait on the guy to come get the bat and stuff. It has kind of stemmed from that and everybody is kind of taking it by storm here.

“I enjoy walks. For me, I treat them as good as I hit because I get on base for the guy behind me. I like running the bases too, so if they hit a double I like trying to score from first. I enjoy getting on the bases and just trying to help any way I can.”

Henderson reached base safely three times last night with a hit and two walks - his 12th game reaching at least three times and he has 31 games where he has reached at least twice. 

Speaking of awards, like the MVP, Henderson also could be a strong contender this year for a Gold Glove now that he is staying at one position and continues to play the heck out of shortstop.

“I take a lot of pride in my defense, so that would be pretty cool to see at the end of the year. Trying to be as athletic as I can out there and make plays for the pitcher working his butt off," he said. 

Before Friday's game, O's executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias told reporters that both John Means and Tyler Wells are headed for elbow procedures and their 2024 seasons are over.

Henderson said the team will somehow overcome the losses of these players.

“We have been really resilient on that end of things. Everybody is really stepping up in big ways and it’s like somebody different each and every night. We have each other’s backs," he said.

O's win again: Scoring three times in the sixth inning, the Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 Friday night to improve to 36-19 (.654) with their seventh win in the last eight games. 

They are now 20-11 at home and 10-3 versus AL East teams. Their comeback win - after trailing 1-0 early on - was their 17th of this season and Baltimore's 101st comeback win since the start of 2022 and that number leads all of MLB.

Austin Hays' pinch-hit RBI single tied the game 1-1 in the sixth and Hays is now 5-for-9 this year as a pinch-hitter. Jorge Mateo's two-run double made it 3-1. Mateo has seven RBIs in his past nine games. Over his last 14 games, he is batting .256 and slugging .512 with an OPS of .824 in that span.

In 28 games since April 29, the O's pitchers have an ERA of 2.73 allowing a batting average against of .197 and an OPS of .593 in that span. Right-hander Albert Suárez allowed one run over five innings Friday night and has an ERA of 0.95 in May and the Birds' bullpen pitched four scoreless.