No home runs would be produced on this night, but the one-man show better known as Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. keeps on going with few signs of slowing down.
He even went into the protective mesh down the first-base line in foul territory to hunt down a pop up for the out.
He gave the unsuspecting fans seated in the area a welcome surprise by landing on their lap.
Win or lose, fans have been basking in the glow generated by Vlad Jr., who extended his hit streak to 22 games, one shy of his career high, in Friday night’s series opener against the visiting Oakland A’s.
Having earned a series win over the Baltimore Orioles, the Jays begin a stretch of playing against inferior opposition, a relative term knowing the Blue Jays have their own set of issues.
The Vlad Jr. show had a supporting star Thursday when Kevin Gausman gave the Jays a solid start until the bullpen nearly blew it away in the ninth inning.
Jose Berrios filled the supporting role in the series opener against the A’s in his 100th start for the Blue Jays, who held on for a hard-fought 3-1 win.
He reached the career-milestone 1,300th strikeout along the way, earning applause and respect from the fans in attendance, in pitching seven complete innings.
The lone mistake was a solo home run, one of six hits Berrios would surrender, while striking out eight.
The Vlad Jr. buzz and the Berrios pitching aside, this game was too close for comfort.
Toronto’s go-ahead run came on a force out, indicating the evening’s slim margins.
The add-on run came on a home run.
Erik Swanson began the eighth inning for the Blue Jays and gave up a one-out walk before inducing a fly ball to right field for the second out.
An acrobatic catch by shortstop Leo Jimenez ended the inning.
The night unofficially ended when Spencer Horwitz went way deep into right field to cap off a three-hit night to join Berrios as the game’s best supporting role.
Chad Green once again entered the game to start the ninth.
Fans erupted when Oakland was down to its final strike.
The eruption reached a higher level when the game ended on a groundout.
TAKING THE LEAD
It seems like months when fans and media alike were clamouring to move George Springer down in the order in the wake of an extended stretch of futility at the plate.
While a move would be eventually made, the club, and specifically manager John Schneider, never wavered in his faith in the veteran.
Mind you, the Jays were willing to try just about anyone and even had Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit leadoff.
Eventually, the decision was made to reinsert Springer in the role following a stretch that saw him frequently reach base.
For the 20th time as a Blue Jay and 59th time during his big-league career, Springer produced a leadoff homer.
It was his 14th long ball of the season.
Speaking of leadoff homers, Darell Hernaiz stroked his first big-league home run when he led off the third inning for the A’s.
A native of Puerto Rico, the rookie recorded his milestone moment against his compatriot in Berrios, whose season of surrendering homers has been well documented.
For the record, the leadoff homer to Hernaiz was the 26th long ball yielded by Berrios.
In his most recent start on Aug. 3 when the Jays were in the Bronx, Berrios gave up three homers to the Yankees in his five-inning outing that would see the righty yield five earned runs.
HORWITZ BLITZ
An under-the-radar subject involves Spencer Horwitz.
Whether it’s his long-term viability with the club or his recent appearances at the plate, not much attention has been placed on Horwitz, who has hit at the top of the order and in the middle of the order.
He’ll play second base or first base on the field.
While he has shown to be a very competent player, at times trending toward elite, it’s anyone’s guess where Horwitz will eventually land on the lineup once all the off-season business has been addressed.
Unless something completely goes off the rails in the ensuing few months, Horwitz merits a spot on next year’s 26-man roster.
He’s not a home run hitter — Friday’s blast was his first since July 11 — but Horwitz always finds a way to make contact when he steps up to the plate.
Thursday night’s game in the series finale against the Orioles was a bit of an outlier for Horwitz, who struck out three times for the third time this season.
He hasn’t recorded an extra-base hit since July 29 in the first game of a doubleheader in Baltimore.
Horwitz, in his first at-bat Friday batting cleanup, flew out to centre.
In his second at-bat following a Vlad Jr. groundout, Horwitz slapped a ball down the left-field line for a double, his 10th on the season to snap his extra-base hit drought.
A sixth-inning single gave Horwitz his third multi-hit game in August.
TRACKING JOEY
The Jays have pretty much showed their hands when it comes to Joey Loperfido, one of three players the team acquired from Houston as part of the deadline deal that sent left-handed starter Yusei Kikuchi to the Astros.
The kid is talented and versatile, but he’s also very raw.
Friday’s game was his 45th in the big leagues and seventh for the Blue Jays, who have used Loperfido in left and right field, had him hit second in the lineup in five straight games before moving him down to the No. 6 hole Thursday.
Against the A’s, Loperfido hit seventh and grounded out in his first at-bat.
At least he didn’t strike out, having struck out a combined 14 times in his first six games with the Blue Jays.
After recording a hit in each of his first three games with Toronto, Loperfido had gone hitless heading into Friday.
With runners at the corner in a 1-1 game, Loperfido came up to plate with two outs in the fourth inning.
He grounded out to first base to end the inning.
He ended the night by going 0-for-4, but he did not strike out, which is progress in some way.