Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a big night Wednesday in the Jays’ 11-0 rout of the Cleveland Guardians.
The struggling slugger had one of his best games of the season as he tallied three hits, a home run and five RBI while the Jays picked up ground on Cleveland in the American League wild-card race.
The big blow came in the second inning when Guerrero demolished a towering three-run home run to left field off Guardians starter Joey Cantillo. It was Guerrero’s eighth of the season and his first in 15 games.
Guerrero’s moonshot to left field came on a hanging breaking ball and extended the Blue Jays’ (69-71) lead to 6-0 in the second inning as they continue to chase down the Guardians (70-69) for the final AL playoff spot. They trailed by two and a half games entering play Wednesday and were one and a half back after the win.
Fans in the stands chanted ‘Vladdy, Vladdy’ as the imposing slugger - who has not hit like one this season - rounded the bases. He also drove in the opening run of the game on an RBI double in the first inning and picked up another RBI on a single to right in the sixth.
Guerrero entered this game against the Guardians slashing .258/.330/.348 with seven homers and 48 runs batted in. His batting average and slugging percentage are both the lowest marks of his eight-year career, and his home runs, RBI and on-base plus slugging totals are all the lowest of his career by a wide margin.
He is now slashing .262/.333/.360 with eight homers and 53 RBI after Wednesday’s game.
Guerrero is a six-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger for first basemen and finished in the top 10 in AL MVP voting twice in his career. In 1,100 career MLB games, the 27-year-old has hit .285 with 191 home runs and 644 RBI.
The Jays will wrap up their series in Cleveland Thursday afternoon with right-hander Jose Soriano taking the hill against Tanner Bibee.