Gurriel Jr. impresses as Jays win in Bautista’s return

TORONTO The Blue Jays said they wanted to give Lourdes Gurriel Jr. a good, long look when they re-called him from triple-A on Monday. A day later, he delivered quite the show.

Gurriel Jr. hit a two-run, tiebreaking homer and the Blue Jays rallied to beat the New York Mets 8-6 Tuesday, on a night when Toronto starter Marco Estrada left with a hip injury in the first inning and Jose Bautista made his return to Rogers Centre.

Gurriel sent a Tim Peterson (1-1) change-up over the leftfield wall in the eighth, an inning after Yangervis Solarte had tied the game with a threerun shot.

“It makes perfect sense to let him learn in the big leagues ... and he answered with that big home run tonight,” manager John Gibbons said. “We signed him out of Cuba for a reason, might as well find out (what he can do).”

Gurriel made his big league debut April 20 but struggled through his first month in the majors before getting sent down in mid-May. He was recalled again last month and played just one game before heading back to triple-A.

The 24-year-old, who signed a seven-year deal with Toronto as an international free agent in 2016, said he's learned from his up-and-down season already.

“I feel a little more comfortable and more confident,” Gurriel said through a translator. “I'm not going to say I have a lot of experience, but the first couple times I was up it helped me a lot. Now the game has slowed down a little bit and I just feel better now.”

Solarte's homer — his teamleading 16th of the year — capped a five-run seventh inning for the Blue Jays.

John Axford (2-1) handled the eighth and recorded two outs in the ninth. Tyler Clippard got the final out for the save.