Gunnar Henderson has a patient approach at the plate, wisely watching for the right pitch to drive.

On Sunday, fans who have been patient with the Orioles’ 21-year-old blooming star were rewarded with one of his best performances in the major leagues.

Henderson — who hit just .189 through March and April but has batted over .300 for the past month, one-upped himself Sunday, totaling a career-high seven bases, including a 462-foot missile in the seventh inning. The three-run homer, the Orioles’ longest of the season, landed on Eutaw Street and provided insurance runs as the Orioles crushed the Royals, 11-3, in front of an announced crowd of 23,255.

With the win, their fourth straight and first this season by more than five runs, the Orioles (41-24) improved to 17 games over .500 for the first time since July 2016.

Batting leadoff for the second straight game in place of the injured Cedric Mullins, Henderson finished 3-for-5 and just a triple short of the cycle. He’s now homered in three of his four career games in the leadoff spot.

The Orioles rolled out a bit of an unfamiliar lineup Sunday. Adley Rutschman had the day off, Josh Lester played first base in place of Ryan Mountcastle, and Ryan O’Hearn hit cleanup for the first time this year.

But the hodgepodge group produced early, often and aplenty, peppering the Royals for 14 hits and providing more than enough run support for starter Kyle Gibson, who notched his eighth win this season — tied for third-best in MLB.

Mullins’s substitute in center field, Aaron Hicks, had two doubles, as did Ramón Urías, and Lester notched two singles. O’Hearn had a career day, too, going 3-for-3 with a home run and scoring four runs against his former team. With two walks, he reached base five times for the first time in his career.

The offensive onslaught was a foil to the last time Gibson faced the Royals on May 3, when Baltimore was shut out in a 6-0 loss. But Gibson allowed seven hits, no walks and three earned runs in his 6 1/3 innings, lowering his ERA to 3.90.

He tipped his cap to the crowd, who applauded their support, as he left the mound in the seventh. Keegan Akin pitched the final 2 2/3 innings and did not allow a run while striking out six.

The Orioles finished their season series against the Royals with a 5-1 record. The dichotomy between the two clubs this season — the Orioles have one of the best records in MLB while the Royals have the second-worst — illustrates Baltimore’s improvement over the past five years.

In 2018, the two clubs were in similar spots. They had the worst records in baseball and received the top two picks in the 2019 MLB draft: The Orioles selected Adley Rutschman, now their standout catcher, and the Royals picked Bobby Witt Jr., their prized shortstop.

But while Kansas City remains in a rebuild, Baltimore has emerged as one of baseball’s top teams more than one-third of the way through the season.

This story will be updated.

Blue Jays at Orioles

Tuesday, 7:05 p.m.

TV: MASN2

Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM

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