TORONTO – Vladimir Guerrero Jr had the opportunity to extend his career-high streak to 23 games in the seventh inning on Sunday.
The Toronto Blue Jays skateboarder won fourth and final discs at the club with first and second place runners-up and the home team trailing the Cleveland Defender three times.
But Guerrero moved ahead for third to draw 0-4 in the rubber band of a three-game series that saw Toronto decisively beat 7-2 in front of 41,002 spectators at the Rogers Center.
“It was a game we wanted, with him in charge,” said Blue Jays interim manager John Schneider. “It just didn’t go our way.”
The Guardians (61-53) have won for the sixth time in seven games while the Blue Jays (61-52) have won just twice in their eight opening games.
Guerrero was frustrated when he didn’t swing on the fast ball 93.5 mph, four paths from Cleveland starter Shane Bieber (8-6) to 1-2. The next throw, a slider, ends the round.
“It’s the old baseball adage; Schneider said.
Despite a 22-game scoring streak, Guerrero has had a 5-v-26 streak (.192) in his last six games. Also, he didn’t go home in seven competitions.
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“My heart was in my throat,” said Cleveland manager Terry Francona. “Out of respect for what Vladdy can do, I was very nervous.
“Biebs did a great job.”
Cleveland’s starting pitch kept the Blue Jays just four runs in a three-game series as the Guardians overcame Toronto 16-4.
Bieber went through seven rounds, allowing two runs with eight hits with six attacks.
Toronto’s start, Kevin Gausman (8-9) lasted 4 2/3 innings, surrendering five runs on nine hits with walking and five strikes on 98 throws.
“They did a great job in calculating my pitches,” says Gausman. “We’ve faced a lot of good offers lately.”
The Guardians scored one goal in the first, second and fourth innings and two more in the fifth to end Gausman’s day.
Shortstop Amed Rosario hit a solo in the first. Catcher Austin Hedges won a double on the second inning and a double on the fourth.
Josh Naylor, of Mississauga, Ont., came out in fifth with a single to the right. He’s currently 8-eating-27 (.296) with two doubles, one runner and five runs in over six career games in Toronto.
Owen Miller doubled in Cleveland’s fifth run later in the inning.
Cavan Biggio was in the right portion of Toronto’s court and made a great slide, crashing into the side wall of Myles Straw in game six. But he wronged Hedges in the fourth and second games of Miller’s game in the fifth inning.
The Guardians touched on the painkiller Trent Thornton in two runs in season nine, thanks to RBI singles from Rosario and Jose Ramirez. The two-round set ended the Toronto bullpen’s streak of 13 fewer runs in this series.
The Blue Jays finished the game in the first game on a Teoscar Hernandez double and added a run in the fifth game at Guerrero to shorten.
Stripling Update, Springer
Toronto’s right hand Ross Stripling (5-3) will be activated on Wednesday and start in place of struggling Jose Berrios in the series finale against the Baltimore Orioles. Berrios will start playing against the Yankees in New York on Thursday. Stripling launched the first five innings, allowing three hits in a recovery warmup with Triple-A Buffalo for a 3-1 win over Syracuse on Friday.
George Springer (right elbow) qualified off the 10-day injury list on Monday.
Next
The Blue Jays continue their six-day, six-game homecoming with the opening game of the trilogy against the Orioles on Monday. Despite consecutive defeats to the Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore is only 1 1/2 games behind the Rays in the battle for third and final place in the US Championship.
The Orioles have gone 24-13 in their last 37 outings. Toronto’s left-hander Yusi Kikuchi (4-6) will face right-hander Kyle Bradish (1-4) in the opener.
This report by the Canadian Press was first published on August 14, 2022.
© 2022 Canadian Press
