Blue Jays set new record
Charlie Montoyo thought the swing that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. put on a ball that was well outside the strike zone on Friday night looked familiar.
The result was something he’d seen before too.
Guerrero hammered a down-andin pitch from Wade LeBlanc deep to left field for his 14th homer of the season, helping the Blue Jays beat the Seattle Mariners 7-3.
“I’ve seen it before from somebody else — his dad,” Montoyo chuckled, referencing the 20-yearold’s Hall of Fame father Vlad Guerrero Sr., who was known for getting a barrel on pitches well out of the zone. “That’s what I said on the bench, man that reminded me of his dad.
“It’s amazing. Not many people can do that.”
Even Guerrero was surprised when he saw video of the home run after the game.
“I knew when I hit that ball the pitch was down but when I saw video, I don’t even know how I hit that ball,” he said through a translator. “So I guess I looked like my dad.”
Guerrero’s homer, a two-run blast, raised his RBI total to 54 on the season. He came into the game leading all rookies in hits (93), doubles (22) and extra-base hits (36), putting him into the conversation for the American League rookie of the year award.
Montoyo said Guerrero is well on his way to proving he deserves that accolade. But the young third baseman said he’s not thinking about that.
“A lot of people are calling me and letting me know about that but I’m very, very focused on the game here,” Guerrero said. “I just come here every day, work hard and help
the team win and whatever happens happens.”
Randal Grichuk follower Guerrero’s drive with a solo shot of his own, marking a franchise-record 12th time this season that Toronto has hit home runs in consecutive at bats — and the third time this week.
Both connected off LeBlanc (6-7) in the third inning, giving the Blue Jays a 7-2 lead.
Toronto had tied the previous franchise-high 11, a record originally set in 1999, in a win against Texas on Tuesday. The team also went deep in back-to-back at bats against the Rangers Monday night.
Derek Fisher and Danny Jansen both added to Friday’s home run tally and Brandon Drury tacked on an RBI as Toronto (52-73) won for the fifth time in seven games.
“Hitting is contagious right? And when you have that momentum on your side anything can happen,” said Toronto starter Jacob Waguespack. “I think up and down through our lineup anybody can put the ball out of the park.”
Waguespack (4-1) allowed two runs and five hits with a walk and five strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.
The rookie right-hander was applauded by the crowd of 20,844 when he exited the game after giving up a one-out single to Omar Navarez in the sixth.