Gurriel Jr. shines in Jays debut
TORONTO 8 NEW YORK 5
NEW YORK — Growing up in Cuba, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. didn’t foresee coming through in the clutch the way he did in his first major league game.
The prized Toronto Blue Jays prospect delivered — in consecutive at-bats, too.
Gurriel made an impressive debut with two hits and three RBIs as the Blue Jays beat the New York Yankees 8-5 Friday night.
“Well, no one imagines that,” said Gurriel in Spanish. “Every ballplayer’s dream is to play in the best league in the world, and this truly is a dream come true.”
Teoscar Hernandez, another promising player in the Toronto organization, homered and drove in three runs, and Yangervis Solarte also connected for the Blue Jays, who have won nine of their last 11 games.
Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton broke a 50 at-bat homerless slump with his fourth shot of the season, a drive that put New York ahead 4-2 in the third.
“You block out all the noise as much as possible and then you just remember this is a kid’s game,” said Stanton, who is hitting just 5-for-42 at Yankee Stadium this season. “Remember how you were back when you were a kid and you got out there and prepare and let what happen happens.”
The 24-year-old Gurriel was called up from double-A New Hampshire, where the second baseman was batting .347. The brother of Houston first baseman Yuli Gurriel hit a two-run single in the fourth that gave Toronto a 5-4 lead, then had an RBI single in the fifth that put the Blue Jays ahead to stay at 6-5.
Gurriel signed a seven-year, $22-million US deal in November 2016 after defecting along with Yuli Gurriel the previous February from the Cuban team that was participating in the Caribbean World Series in the Dominican Republic.
He tried his best to shy away from his middle sibling’s remarks earlier in the day, claiming the Toronto prospect as the better major leaguer.
“It’s the desire I’ve always had of improving,” Gurriel said.
Manager John Gibbons came away impressed with his youngster’s poise, especially during his third turn at the plate, facing an 0-2 count in a tied game.
“He got to the big leagues and he did it the right way,” Gibbons said. “Couple of big hits, especially that second one, two strikes, shot the ball the other way.”
Toronto starter Marco Estrada (2-1) weaved in and out of trouble over five innings. He was charged with five runs and seven hits, three of them home runs, but improved to 4-0 in his last seven starts at Yankee Stadium, thanks to Gurriel.
“Yankee Stadium, it was a good crowd out there,” Estrada said. “The nerves, he’s probably feeling a little bit of them, but he didn’t show any of it.”
Seung Hwan Oh, Danny Barnes and Ryan Tepera each followed with a scoreless inning. Roberto Osuna pitched the ninth for his sixth save in as many chances.
The Blue Jays chased Sonny Gray (1-2) by sending nine batters to the plate in the fourth inning. Gray allowed five hits and five runs in 3 13 ⁄ innings.
Mariners 6, Rangers 2
ARLINGTON, Texas — Jean Segura hit a two-run double in a four-run ninth inning after Mitch Haniger’s tying homer in the eighth, lifting the Seattle Mariners over the Texas Rangers 6-2.
The liner to right centre from Segura chased Texas closer Keone Kela (2-1), who gave up singles to Daniel Vogelbach and Dee Gordon and got his only out on Guillermo Heredia’s sacrifice bunt.
Haniger’s fifth homer was a two-out shot to the berm in centre field against Chris Martin. Haniger and Kyle Seager added RBI singles in the ninth off Jake Diekman as the Rangers remained the only team in the majors without a win in a series opener, dropping to 0-7.
Juan Nicasio (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth, and Edwin Diaz struck out two in the ninth around a walk and a hit batter.