Henderson’s haste: Rookie has his moment

WASHINGTON — More so than the speed Gunnar Henderson showed as he rounded the bases, and more so than the ball slipping out of Washington Nationals left fielder César Hernández’s grasp on his throw, perhaps the most surprising thing about the play that broke Wednesday night’s game open was that Henderson never lost his helmet.

In the Orioles rookie’s first marquee moment in the major leagues, that helmet gave way to his blond locks, either by the sheer force of his swing or the speed of his legs.

But in the seventh inning at Nationals Park on Wednesday, Henderson chugged and the helmet remained — all the way from the batter’s box, around first, second and third, and into home plate about 15 seconds later.

“To watch him run, for a guy that physical, that size, it’s pretty fun,” manager Brandon Hyde said.

Baltimore needed a spark against Washington, having staggered through six innings against left-hander Patrick Corbin.

Against the Nationals’ bullpen, however, the Orioles immediately broke through, with Henderson’s hard-hit triple down the third base line plating three runs to propel Baltimore to a 6-2 win to keep pace in the race toward the final American League wild-card spot.

With the victory, the Orioles are four games back of the Tampa Bay Rays heading into a three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays, although the Rays own the tiebreaker over Baltimore.

“Hopefully we can carry the momentum from here,” starting pitcher Tyler Wells said. “We feel good. We are sitting there picking each other up in the dugout. Dugout’s been really loud, showing a lot of camaraderie and team support. I think that goes a long way, so hopefully we can continue that in Toronto and carry out a series win there.”

As the Orioles struggle to produce with runners in scoring position, Henderson has a been a bright spot. The 21-year-old is 4-for-9 with runners in scoring position this month; the rest of his teammates are 15-for-84.