Hear Henderson sum up his 9K MLB debut in front of family and friends
Hear Logan Henderson sum up his 9K MLB debut in front of family and friends. The Brewers routed the Oakland Athletics 14-1 on Sunday, April 20, 2025 at American Family Field in Milwaukee.
Pay no mind to the numbers popping up on the scoreboard when Logan Henderson pitches. Look, Sal Frelick says, to the swings emanating from the batter’s box.
In the first at-bat of the game May 20, Jackson Holliday swung through low-90s fastballs in the strike zone before flailing at a changeup for strike three. Adley Rutschman did the same moments later as Henderson racked up eight empty swings in the first inning alone.
Heston Kjerstad sauntered back to the dugout the following inning, another victim of a fastball right down the middle that proved deadly.
Ramon Laureano and Cedric Mullins later on against heaters? Might as well take a seat, too.
The feedback from opponents’ hacks, frequently uncomfortable and equally often leading to nothing but air, across Henderson’s first three starts is that the Milwaukee Brewers might have a viable rotation arm for the rest of this season and beyond – even if he’s operating with just two pitches predominantly.
“It might not flash on the scoreboard, but that’s why he’s here – because it’s hard to hit,” Frelick said. “There’s something he does that’s special. Whether a guy’s throwing 88 or 100, when you’re int he box and you’re facing him, it’s a tough at-bat. He’s got really good stuff and he’s showing it.”
BOX SCORE: Brewers 5, Orioles 2
Henderson showcased it over five shutout innings that, along with three home runs from a power-starved offense, led the Brewers to a third straight win with a 5-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on May 20 at American Family Field.
Brice Turang, Frelick and Rhys Hoskins changed things up for the offense by going deep – something the Brewers hadn’t done in six days – while on the mound Henderson did more of the same.
The right-hander struck out seven, making him only the ninth pitcher since 1901 in Major League Baseball to punch out seven or more batters in each of his first three career outings.
“No question about it, this kid, he’s been great every time out,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “Not just good – great. Every time out.”
Rare air for Logan Henderson
That isn’t the only history Henderson made, either; he also became the first pitcher in franchise history to be the winning pitcher in each of his first three career appearances. Henderson’s 23 total strikeouts through three games are also the second-most in Brewers history behind only Freddy Peralta’s 25 in 2018.
Henderson dominated with his two primary pitches, a four-seam fastball and changeup, but perhaps the most encouraging sign from his showing was a third pitch, his cutter. Seventeen of the 23-year-old’s career-high 20 whiffs came via fastballs and changeups, but he sprinkled in three swings and misses on only nine cutters thrown. Through his first two starts, Henderson had only thrown eight cutters to the tune of no whiffs.
“William called it a few times in the fourth or fifth there and got some swings on it,” Henderson said. “I feel really good about it. It was the right time to throw them, backdoor to lefties. For me to be able to execute a pitch I don’t throw all that often was nice.”
Initially called up for a spot start April 20 against the Athletics, Henderson in his last time out a week ago earned another chance to take the mound against the Orioles. Now he’s extending his stay in Milwaukee even further.
“There’s been so much to soak in, Henderson said. “I’ve learned a lot from watching the game from the dugout, picking these guys’ brains. You try to remember that hitting is hard and if you go out and attack the strike zone, yo uhave a good opportunity to do well.”
Rhys Hoskins adds an insurance run
Rhys Hoskins, the most consistent Brewers batter this year by far, was at it again to provide some insurance.
The Brewers first baseman padded the lead with a solo home run leading off the bottom of the eighth against Orioles closer Felix Bautista, turning the lead from one to two. It was the third homer of the night for the Brewers and sixth of the season for Hoskins, who also doubled earlier to push his average to .297 and OPS to .885.
The lead pushed to 5-2 later in the inning when Orioles second baseman threw high to first on a Joey Ortiz grounder, allowing Frelick to score from second as the ball ricocheted off the Brewers dugout. The play was marked a single for Ortiz, his first hit in six days, and throwing error on Holliday.
Bullpen move in the seventh backfires
With two outs and a runner on third in the seventh, Brewers manager Pat Murphy was faced with a decision: Bring in the right-hander Joel Payamps for the righty Ramon Urias, or stick with the southpaw Tyler Alexander knowing the Orioles had a barrage of left-handers coming up.
Murphy went with the former, calling for Payamps even though the tying run was on deck – and a lefty, Jackson Holliday. It backfired, as Urias singled to score a run and then came across when Holliday tripled off the fence in left-center to make it a 3-2 lead for Milwaukee.
Payamps responded by getting Adley Rutschman to fly out to center and end the inning.
Sal Frelick makes it a three-run lead
There was no helmet spike as there was last week when he did it, but Sal Frelick went deep to back Logan Henderson for a second straight game.
With one out in the fourth, Frelick lofted a two-run blast to the right-field bleachers to tie his career high with his third home run of the year. The homer was the Brewers’ second of the game after going four games without one and pushed the lead to 3-0.
Frelick credited the batters before him in the inning for putting him a position to create damage. Hoskins opened the frame with a hustle double on a play where Baltimore right fielder Ramon Laureano injured his knee, then moved to third on an Isaac Collins ground ball.
With the infield drawn in, Frelick had myriad ways to attack Baltimore right-hander Chayce McDermott.
“Feel like I’m swinging it good,” Frelick said. “The home run swing was just how that whole inning transpired, just the guys before me. Rhys busting out of the box on a pop-up that he gets to second on. Isaac getting him over, which allows me to go up there and not cheat but really look up in the zone and try to hit a fly ball where other at-bats that’s never my intent.
“Just credit to the other guys in the lineup.”
Brice Turang leaves the park
A gnarly illness early in May hampered Brice Turang for a couple of weeks, but the Brewers second baseman is beginning to smack the baseball around just like he did early in the season again. With one out in the third, Turang drove a solo home run 409 feet at 107 mph off the bat to left-center. It was Turang’s first long ball in more than a month, with his last one coming April 8 at Colorado.
What time is the Brewers game tonight?
Time: 6:40 p.m.
What channel is the Brewers game on tonight?
TV channel: FanDuel Sports Wisconsin
Orioles lineupJackson Holliday 2BAdley Rutschman CGunnar HendersonRamon Laureano RFRyan O’Hearn DHRyan Mountcastle 1BCedric Mullins CFHeston Kjerstad LFRamon Urias 3BBrewers lineupBrice Turang 2BJackson Chourio CFWilliam Contreras CChristian Yelich DHRhys Hoskins 1BIsaac Collins LFSal Frelick RFCaleb Durbin 3BJoey Ortiz SSBrewers schedule
Brewers vs. Orioles, 12:10 p.m. May 21. Milwaukee RHP Chad Patrick (2-4, 3.35) vs. Baltimore RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (4-3, 3.08). TV – FanDuel Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620 WTMJ.