The Toronto Blue Jays got the second half of the season off to a great start with a convincing 7-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night at Rogers Center.
The recent home run contest winner, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., showed his skills that night by hitting his 14th home run of the season. He gave his team the first point of the game on his first appearance.
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Guerrero Jr. became the fifth winner of that contest to hit a long ball in his first game after that contest. The first four to achieve this feat are Prince Fielder (2009), Ryan Howard (2006), Ken Griffey Jr. (1998), and Tino Martinez in 1997.
Kevin Kiermaier doubled the Jays’ lead in that inning. The midfielder earned his 20th point of the season through a sacrificial double-play that allowed Matt Chapman to cross the plate.
Toronto gasped in the seventh inning by going there with a five-run push.
This meeting marked the return of Lourdes Gurriel junior and Gabriel Moreno to the Queen City. Both players were traded to the Diamondbacks for outfielder Daulton Varsho in the offseason.
Gurriel Jr. spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Jays, while Moreno only spent one season with Toronto. In fact, he leveled the game in the seventh inning by hitting his third home run of the season.
Despite the win, John Schneider’s men now sit third in the mighty American League East Division with a 51-41 record.
The Brewers join the Reds
The Milwaukee Brewers joined the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Central table with a 1-0 win Friday night at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park.
Brewers wide receiver Victor Caratini drove the only run of the game.
The Wisconsin team just picked up their sixth win in eight games against the Reds this season.