Fans were given a look at baseball life without Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the face of the Blue Jays franchise who was given a rare off day in the second game of Toronto’s four-game series against the visiting Los Angeles Angels.
Without Vlad Jr. in the starting lineup, the lone fixture was George Springer hitting leadoff.
While Daulton Varsho has been given a run in the No. 2 hole, his skills at the plate are best suited lower in the order.
Spencer Horwitz was inserted in Vlad Jr.’s familiar No. 3 hole.
Speaking of holes, the Jays found themselves in a four-run hole when the Angels scored four runs in the second inning off starter Chris Bassitt, the same Chris Bassitt who didn’t, admittedly, make the right adjustments quickly enough when the Rogers Centre roof was closed in his most recent home start against the Oakland A’s when he thought it would be open.
The roof was open Friday night, paving the way for someone like Joey Loperfido to open some eyes.
Perhaps fans were given a look at the future when watching Loperfido make a fearless catch off the wall in left field.
He tied it up with a home run in the ninth inning.
Another peek into the future then emerged in the form of Addison Barger, who completed the wild comeback with a walk-off home run as the Jays staged a thrilling comeback in beating the Angels, 5-4, for the fifth time in a row.
Outside of the second inning, Bassitt pitched well in going six complete innings, an outing featuring six strikeouts and four hits surrendered, including three in the second.
Bassitt threw a total of 98 pitches.
There was an encouraging scoreless inning produced by Erik Swanson, who struck out two in his one and done appearance.
Without Vlad Jr. in the starting lineup, there’s a different feel to this Jays team because it’s short on marquee names.
But the ninth-inning power surge showed life without Vlad Jr. can be tolerated.
For one night that is.
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HISTORICAL JANO
Beantown will usher in a different kind of history Monday when the host Red Sox and Blue Jays resume a June 26 game interrupted by rain that was subsequently suspended.
When it was suspended, Danny Jansen was in the middle of his at-bat.
On July 26, three days prior to MLB’s trade deadline, the Jays dealt their veteran catcher to their AL East rivals for a package of prospects.
Once the trade was engineered, it opened the possibility of Jansen appearing in a single game for both teams, a first in MLB history.
Red Sox skipper Alex Cora made it official when he dropped the news Friday to reporters prior to Boston’s game against Arizona.
“Yeah, he’s catching,” said Cora at Fenway Park. “Let’s make history!”
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Back on June 26, Reese McGuire, Jansen’s teammate in Toronto, was behind the plate for the Red Sox.
With one out in the top of the second inning, umpires waved players off the field.
The game will resume at 2:05 p.m. as part of a split doubleheader.
According to MLB, the lineup and batting order of both teams will be exactly the same as the lineup and batting order at the moment of the suspension.
A player who was not with the club when the game was suspended may be used as a substitute.
Jose Berrios will be on the mound, but technically he’ll be making a relief appearance.
Yariel Rodriguez started for the Jays on June 26.
He’s expected to get the start Tuesday, meaning Rodriguez would have started on consecutive days, yet another oddity to Toronto’s upcoming stay in Boston.
Adding another layer is the Jays will be able to add a 27th player to their roster for Monday’s second game.
No addition is allowed for the first game given it is the resumption of a suspended game.
BRIEFLY
Offensive co-ordinator Don Mattingly, who had been away after having shoulder surgery in Cleveland earlier in the week, has returned and was sporting a sling … Canada’s star in the Paris Summer Olympics, Summer McIntosh, threw out the ceremonial first pitch with Vlad Jr. serving as catcher; once Vlad Jr. caught the one-hopper, he signed the ball and presented it to her. The moment was punctuated when all three gold medals won in the pool were placed around the neck of McIntosh.
CLASSY KEVIN
Kevin Pillar is making the most of what is shaping up to be his final visit to Toronto after hinting earlier in the season that 2024 will be his final year in baseball.
The popular ex-Jays centre fielder known for his highlight reel catches used his social media platform to reach out to fans with a challenge.
It went as follows: “Hello #Toronto. Love being back! Going to be giving away 4 tickets for Saturday’s game. First person to answer this question correctly will receive 4 tickets for Saturdays game. What former teammates jersey will I be wearing for batting practice tonight??”
Turns out Pillar would wear Ryan Goins’ No. 17 Canada Day jersey in the hours leading up to Friday night’s first pitch.
Goins serves as infield coach for the Angels.
When leading off the second inning, Pillar was hit by a pitch and came around to score the game’s first run on an Anthony Rendon double.