Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. demolished an offering from Joey Cantillo of the Guardians, sending a hanging breaking ball over the wall for his first homer in 15 games in a key series against Cleveland.
Guerrero’s towering shot to left field was his eighth of the season and extended the Blue Jays’ (68-71) lead to 6-0 in the second inning as they try to chase down the Guardians (70-68) for the final wild-card slot in the American League. They trailed by two and a half games entering play Wednesday.
Fans in the stands chanted ‘Vladdy, Vladdy’ as the imposing slugger - who has not played like one this season - rounded the bases. He also drove in the first run of the game on an RBI double in the first inning.
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.
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 1,099 career MLB games entering Wednesday’s action, the 27 year old has hit .285 with 190 home runs and 639 RBI.
