Vladimir Guerrero Jr. didn't end his Rogers Centre home run drought Friday night against the New York Yankees; however, he did make serious contact in the sixth inning — with the knee of Yankees rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr., that is.
His worrisome collision at third base took place amid a head-scratching sequence that saw the Yankees flub a double-play opportunity. A chopper from George Springer was corralled by Ryan McMahon, who stepped on the third-base bag and fired a toss to first. But it needed a bounce to reach first, where Luis García Jr.'s glove popped off as he tried to stab the ball for the inning-ending out.
García got on his horse, collected the ball, turned and whipped it back to third. The problem was, no one was covering the bag. As Lombard attempted to chase down the throw, he ran into a sliding Guerrero, who weathered a blow to the head before wincing on his way home for Toronto's first run in a 3-1 series-opening victory over the Yankees (68-54).
The Blue Jays (60-64), now only one game back of the final wild-card spot in the American League after selling at the trade deadline, improved to 6-2 in their past eight games, in large part thanks to catcher Alejandro Kirk. He scored Springer in the sixth with a two-out double. Then he launched a solo shot in the eighth.
Guerrero, though, didn't return to the game after the thump he endured. He finished 1-for-3 with a single.
#garc #home
His worrisome collision at third base took place amid a head-scratching sequence that saw the Yankees flub a double-play opportunity. A chopper from George Springer was corralled by Ryan McMahon, who stepped on the third-base bag and fired a toss to first. But it needed a bounce to reach first, where Luis García Jr.'s glove popped off as he tried to stab the ball for the inning-ending out.
García got on his horse, collected the ball, turned and whipped it back to third. The problem was, no one was covering the bag. As Lombard attempted to chase down the throw, he ran into a sliding Guerrero, who weathered a blow to the head before wincing on his way home for Toronto's first run in a 3-1 series-opening victory over the Yankees (68-54).
The Blue Jays (60-64), now only one game back of the final wild-card spot in the American League after selling at the trade deadline, improved to 6-2 in their past eight games, in large part thanks to catcher Alejandro Kirk. He scored Springer in the sixth with a two-out double. Then he launched a solo shot in the eighth.
Guerrero, though, didn't return to the game after the thump he endured. He finished 1-for-3 with a single.
#garc #home
7 days ago
