Vladimir Guerrero Jr. may have hit his first home run in 16 games, but the Toronto Blue Jays still lost 5-2 to the Cleveland Guardians on Friday night at the Rogers Center.
Dominican and outfielder George Springer hit long solo balls that were the local favorite’s only moments of celebration. The Jays (70-59) suffered their third loss in a row, further complicating their standings.
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Toronto needs to look at their pitchers as the outfielders were quite reliable defensively in this game. In the third set, a defensive game was noticed after Jose Ramirez’s brace. Springer picked up the ball and threw it to Whit Merrifield, who rushed to catcher Alejandro Kirk at the plate due to Steven Kwan’s wild run.
Video playback was necessary and the referee reversed his own decision, confirming that the Guardians player had been challenged as he had never touched home plate. The score at the time was 1 to 1.
Cleveland scored most of their points with their powerful swings. Bo Naylor and Ramon Laureano sent balls over the fence at the expense of pitcher Chris Bassit (12-7). Substitute Jordan Hicks later allowed Andres Gimenez to hit a home run as well.
This series will continue on Saturday and Sunday.