Henderson reinstated, Orioles lineup in Kansas City

KANSAS CITY – The Orioles reinstated shortstop Gunnar Henderson from the 10-day injured list this afternoon and optioned outfielder Dylan Carlson to Triple-A Norfolk.

Henderson is recovered from the strained right intercostal that he sustained on Feb. 27. He appeared in five games on his injury rehab assignment and went 5-for-19 with two home runs.

Carlson was 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. He started in left field yesterday and had a sacrifice fly.

Henderson is leading off. Cedric Mullins is the cleanup hitter.

Jordan Westburg is at third base and batting third. Heston Kjerstad is in left field.

Ryan Mountcastle moves down to eighth in the order.

Dean Kremer allowed five runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings in his first start. He’ll try to lower the rotation’s 6.35 ERA.

Kremer has a 3.94 ERA in three career starts against the Royals, with seven earned runs in 16 innings, and he’s allowed four earned runs in 10 2/3 innings at Kauffman Stadium.

Bobby Witt Jr. is 3-for-8 with a home run against Kremer.

The eight runs of support that Kremer received in his first start was more than in any of his 24 outings last year. The offense averaged 4.30 runs for Kremer.

The Orioles have collected at least a dozen hits in their first three wins to tie the club record also set in 1957, 1983 and 2006, per STATS.  

The Orioles went 2-1 against the Royals at home last season and 2-1 in Kansas City. However, they were swept in the best-of-three Wild Card Series at Camden Yards.

Kansas City right-hander Seth Lugo allowed three runs and four hits in five innings in his initial start after posting a 5.50 ERA in 18 spring training innings.

Lugo, an All-Star last season, has registered a 3.86 ERA in three career games against the Orioles totaling only 9 1/3 innings. He’s the first pitcher drafted in the 30^th round or later (34^th) to finish in the top two in Cy Young Award voting.

Cedric Mullins is 3-for-5 with a home run against Lugo and Jordan Westburg is 2-for-4 with a triple and home run.

Salvador Pérez’s next home run will be the 275th of his career, which will tie Jorge Posada for ninth most by a catcher.

The Royals are 2-4. The last time that they lost their first three series of a season was in 2007.

The Orioles have a 6-0-2 series record against the Royals since the 2021 season, their best win rate against any American League team in that span, according to STATS. The eight straight series without a loss is tied for their second longest versus the Royals all-time (13 from 2004-10).

For the Orioles

Gunnar Henderson SS
Adley Rutschman C
Jordan Westburg 3B
Cedric Mullins CF
Ryan O’Hearn DH
Tyler O’Neill RF
Heston Kjerstad LF
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Jackson Holliday 2B

Dean Kremer RHP