Guerrero and Ohtani are both struggling at the plate

is almost identical this year, but his production is down everywhere with a .778 OPS and just 11 extrabase hits entering Wednesday.

Guerrero can relate after struggling for the better part of a month. Prior to Tuesday’s homer, he went through a 25-game span with a .198 average and .597 OPS that somehow managed to make Bradley Zimmer look like a middle-of-theorder threat. Included in that stretch was a career-high 15-game hitting streak, but with only three extra-base hits.

It has been a grind for both, just like it has for a lot of players with offensive numbers down amid complaints about a deadened baseball.

Guerrero and Ohtani have enough raw power to compensate for the changes; apparently it’s going to take some time before it shows up in their numbers. A 443-foot blast from Ohtani this week suggests those concerns won’t last much longer.

For the Jays, the standings are far more important than any individual performance. After a 3-9 stretch earlier this month, they have gone 5-3, but that was more related to weak opponents than improved play.

Tuesday’s eight-run outburst aside, this is a team struggling to score. In 21 games this month, the Jays have been held to three runs or fewer 15 times. Danny Jansen’s three-run shot against St. Louis was their first homer this month with at least one runner on base. Only the

Kansas City Royals, Oakland A’s, Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers have scored fewer runs overall.

The Jays need more than just Guerrero to get to where they want to go, but a signature performance against Ohtani’s Angels would at least point them in the right direction. It would also serve as a reminder to all voters that while Ohtani might have been the rightful winner a year ago, the Silver Slugger is a generational talent, too.