Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s hit streak extended to 20 games in a big way on Thursday night, sparking the Blue Jays to a 7-6 win over the visiting Baltimore Orioles in the rubber match of their three-game series.
The way Vladdy is swinging the bat, he might even threaten Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hit streak, dubbed by many historians as the most enduring record pro sports will ever witness.
OK, no one believes that record will be broken or even come close, but it’s never bad to occasionally believe the impossible knowing the Blue Jays are essentially playing out the string to a lost season.
No doubt The Yankee Clipper would appreciate Vladdy’s swing and the way he’s turning into an unstoppable force.
It took Guerrero one at-bat in the first inning to keep his hit streak alive when he stroked an opposite field double.
In his next at-bat, he went deep for the 23rd time this season.
During his current 20-game rampage, Guerrero has gone yard 10 times and, by any standard, has emerged as one of the game’s most feared hitters.
Had the Blue Jays been better, he’d even be in the MVP conversation.
In 2021, Vladdy finished second to Shohei Ohtani in AL MVP voting, while winning a Silver Slugger. The current version of the Jays star might be even better than the 2021 model.
His Hall of Fame dad was in attendance Thursday. And after Vladdy took O’s starter Dean Kremer deep for his two-run blast in the fifth inning, he acknowledged his dad, who was sitting in a private box.
In a 6-2 game with a runner at second and two outs, Guerrero stepped up to the plate, and delivered a stand-up triple off the wall against reliever Keegan Akin, knocking in his fourth run of the game. It was his first triple in first in three years and raised his batting average to .321.
A close second in the star department was Kevin Gausman, who had one shaky inning, the third, when the Orioles scored three runs, including a two-run homer from Colton Cowser.
Gausman ended the night by reaching the 100-pitch count in completing eight innings.
After Zach Pop gave up three singles, Chad Green needed to be summoned from the bullpen with none out.
Baltimore would bring the tying run up to the plate with one out having plated two runs in the ninth on four hits.
The evening then turned decidedly dramatic when Green gave up a two-run single with the O’s reduced to their final strike.
Anthony Santander, who has terrorized the Jays, then stepped up to the plate with a runner on first.
Once again, Baltimore was down to its final strike and this time, Green induced a fly ball to centre field.
CAPTAIN KIRK
Alejandro Kirk is at least providing the Blue Jays with an option as the club pivots to next season.
Based on the recent body of work, it’s looking like a pretty viable option as the former all-star appears to have regained some of his past form at the plate.
Behind the plate, Kirk is among the best when it comes to framing.
Prior to Danny Jansen’s trade to the Boston Red Sox, the Blue Jays featured a pretty enviable platoon.
Following the trade, the Blue Jays are faced with a potential problem unless Kirk shows he can handle an everyday load.
The betting is that he won’t, with the Jays expected to address the catching position this coming off-season, but Kirk is at least feasting at the plate, reaching base three times on Thursday, including two walks.
In the series opener, he went deep for the first time since June 10 to increase his home run total to three, which is far too little. However, he seldom strikeouts and now has 14 hits in the past nine games.
AROUND THE BASES
After sitting Wednesday for the first time as a Blue Jays, Joey Loperfido was back in the lineup on Thursday. Batting sixth for the first time and starting in left, he struck out in his first at-bat, which isn’t new. In each of his previous five games, he struck out at least twice. On Thursday, he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, giving him 14 Ks in just 26 at-bats since his arrival from the Houston Astros … Left-handed reliever Genesis Cabrera was placed on the paternity list, paving the way for the Blue Jays to acquire right-hander Tommy Nance from the San Diego Padres for cash. Those asking why a post-deadline trade was able to be completed, Nance wasn’t on the 40-man roster, which made him eligible.