Orioles edge Cubs, 4-3, behind Henderson's late blast, beleaguered bullpen

Matt Weyrich, The Baltimore Sun on Aug 2, 2025

Published in Baseball

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

CHICAGO — The Baltimore Orioles looked about as lifeless as they had all season. Enter Gunnar Henderson.

With Baltimore entering the eighth inning Saturday mired an 18-inning scoreless streak and in danger of being shut out by the Chicago Cubs for the second straight day, Henderson blasted a go-ahead three-run home run to stun a sold-out Wrigley Field crowd in a 4-3 comeback win.

Left-hander Matthew Boyd allowed just four hits in seven innings to hand a 3-0 game over to the Cubs’ bullpen, but Baltimore orchestrated a sudden rally that turned the game on its head.

The Orioles first put runners on the corners with two outs for Jordan Westburg, who made up for getting picked off by the crafty Boyd and committing a fielding error at third base by driving in the Orioles’ first run on an RBI single through the right side. That brought up Henderson, who took Cubs left-hander Caleb Thielbar deep 416 feet to right-center field despite the wind blowing in all afternoon.

It put the Orioles (51-60) in the abrupt position of needing to protect a one-run lead with a bullpen that had just been stripped down ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline. With Corbin Martin and Grant Wolfram already out of the game after pitching the sixth and seventh innings, respectively, interim manager Tony Mansolino turned to Yennier Cano and Keegan Akin.

There was little drama for Cano, who pitched a perfect eighth against the bottom of the Cubs’ lineup. Akin walked both catcher Carson Kelly and designated hitter Seiya Suzuki but struck out All-Star outfielders Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong to end the game. The save was Akin’s fourth of his career (and his first recording all three outs in the ninth) and he became the sixth Orioles reliever to record at least one for the club this season.

Baltimore’s comeback effort got Tomoyuki Sugano off the hook for the bad-luck loss after he allowed three runs on five hits and a walk with five strikeouts in five innings. The 35-year-old right-hander lowered his ERA to 4.42 with the effort and he’s now given up three runs or fewer in three of his past four starts.

Henderson (2 for 4) and Westburg (2 for 4 with a pair of singles) accounted for more than half of the Orioles’ hits in the game. Rookie Jeremiah Jackson, starting in right field for the second game of his MLB career, went 2 for 3 with a pair of singles as well.

Instant analysis

After the Orioles traded away Charlie Morton and nearly half of their bullpen at the deadline, a first glance at the roster would’ve told you that the team was going to have to outslug its opponents most of the time to win the rest of the way.

However, after Trevor Rogers’ complete game loss Friday and the performance of Sugano and his bullpen Saturday, it’s the Orioles’ offense that’s come under the microscope so far.

Henderson’s blast saved the club from another underwhelming offensive performance, and while the early pitching returns are positive, the Orioles are going to need more of that down the stretch to play competitive games.

On deck

Right-hander Brandon Young will start the Orioles’ season finale in Chicago on Sunday and left-hander Cade Povich is expected to come off the injured list to start Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies, Mansolino announced before the game. Young, who was recalled Thursday when Zach Eflin landed on the IL, has a 6.63 ERA in eight starts for Baltimore this season.

Around the horn

— Baltimore activated left-hander Dietrich Enns on Saturday after playing a man short in its 1-0 loss to the Cubs on Friday afternoon. Enns, 34, was acquired from the Detroit Tigers in a cash deal just before Thursday’s trade deadline. He’ll be an option out of the bullpen moving forward.

— The Orioles claimed first baseman and outfielder Ryan Noda off waivers from the Chicago White Sox on Saturday and optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk, bringing their 40-man roster to 35 players. Noda, 29, is with his fourth organization of the season; he hit 16 home runs with a .770 OPS for the Athletics in 2023 but hasn’t stuck in the majors for very long since.

— Outfielder Tyler O’Neill was scratched from the Orioles’ lineup Saturday with an illness, sending him the bench in favor of infielder Luis Vázquez. O’Neill is 9 for 25 with four home runs over his past eight games since missing a pair of contests with “general soreness” last week.

— Right-handers Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells will both need a few more rehabilitation starts before they’ll be ready to join the Orioles’ active roster, Mansolino said. Albert Suárez faced live hitters last week and will complete one more simulated outing in the next couple of days before beginning his own rehab assignment.

____