The Toronto Blue Jays have finally shaken their losing ways. But it took them quite some time to do so. Flash back one week, and Toronto was sitting five games above .500 through one game of its series with the Boston Red Sox. But disaster struck soon after, as the team went on to lose six-straight games to Boston and the red-hot Tampa Bay Rays.
Entering Tuesday night’s game with an even 23-23 record, the Jays faced Corey Kluber, who was coming off a no-hitter in his last outing. But despite that, Toronto took care of business early and often, rallying for three home runs in a 6-2 victory in the Bronx.
Opening a three-game evening series with the Yanks, the Jays are currently in the midst of a stretch that sees 13 games in 13 days. Coming off two multi-homer games, the very best hitter in baseball finally found the ultimate joy in hitting a long ball in a game his team won.
Entering the night with a .333 average, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had eight home runs, 16 RBIs and a 1.324 OPS in his last 13 outings – yes, rockstar numbers. Currently leading the major leagues in OPS, the super-slugger has turned into one of the hardest outs in baseball.
Drawing a two-out walk on his first visit to the plate Tuesday, Vladdy later came to the dish with shortstop Bo Bichette on second base. Owning a blistering .457 average with runners in scoring position on the season, Vladdy drilled a home run to right-centrefield, on a 1-1 count. Taking Kluber deep for the first long ball of the game, Guerrero’s homer had an exit velocity of 114.7 miles per hour off the bat.
Vladdy Jr. now leads the league in HR 😤 pic.twitter.com/5pFpWTiTEw
— MLB (@MLB) May 26, 2021
His third inning home run gave Toronto a 2-0 lead and helped Guerrero to his league-leading 16th bomb of the year. Patiently waiting out a high cutter, the 22-year-old then let a fastball by on the inside, before waiting out the breaking ball high over the plate. His 41st RBI of the season also leads the majors.
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Guerrero now sits one home run ahead of Ronald Acuna Jr., Shohei Ohtani and Adolis Garcia (all tied with 15).
“When he hit that ball to right field, everybody just goes, ‘Wow,’” Jays’ manager Charlie Montoyo said post-game. “That’s not all that easy to do. He hit that hard. He’s been amazing. He’s one of the best hitters in baseball. To be that young and be that good, it’s been fun for me to watch. I love the game and I know what he’s doing isn’t easy to do.”
The Jays later got home runs from Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Randal Grichuk to help seal the deal in an outpouring of offence.
“I’m just glad I don’t have to face him,” winning pitcher Steven Matz said of Guerrero following the win.
The first-year Jay put together one of his sharpest outings of the season, going six and two-third innings before allowing a run. Entering the game with a 4.69 ERA, a 1.38 WHIP and 50Ks in 48 innings pitched, Matz saw his numbers drastically improve as he struck out a season-high 10 batters on the evening.
Starting the game by striking out the side in order, Matz only began to falter once his pitch count rose about 100 in the seventh inning. He allowed just one run on six hits, earning his sixth win of the year. Matz also became just the third Blue jays starter ever with no walks and 10+ strikeouts in a start against the Yankees (Dave Stieb, twice).
“It’s definitely a little shot in the arm,” Matz said. “I kept the ball rolling. I did have some confidence coming into this start when I was able to do that. The thing is just keeping the ball rolling, not hitting the panic button when things don’t always go your way and keeping your head down and sticking to it.”
Toronto and New York will go right back at it again on both Wednesday and Thursday evenings from Yankee Stadium. Sitting one game above .500, the Blue Jays will need to cover significant ground to catch both the Yanks and Red Sox, should they hope to continue in their chase of the mighty Rays.