Blue Jays use long ball for walkoff victory
TORONTO – Like a golfer admiring a drive, Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. crushed a home run on Tuesday and couldn't help but hold the pose for an extra second to watch the ball fly over the wall.
Teammate Addison Barger provided some theatre of his own with a no-doubt blast — complete with a bat flip — in the ninth inning that gave Toronto a walkoff victory.
Bo Bichette also flashed some power with a game-tying solo homer before Barger ended it as the Blue Jays topped the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4 for their 22nd comeback win of the season.
'Huge swing from him, huge swing from Bo, both with two strikes,' said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. 'I love the way they went about it.'
It was the fifth time in franchise history that Toronto walked off a game with back-to-back homers. Barger also hit the game winner the last time it happened on Aug. 23 against the Los Angeles Angels.
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'I just don't want to play extras,' Barger said with a laugh. 'I don't think anybody wants to play extras, so that's all the motivation I really need.'
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Toronto (39-33) ended its three-game losing skid and improved to 23-13 at Rogers Centre.
Jeff Hoffman (6-2) threw an inning of relief for the win. Blue Jays right-hander Chris Bassitt had a quality start, allowing three earned runs and six hits over six frames.
Guerrero set the early tone with an RBI double that scored Barger in the first inning before delivering a majestic blast in the third that travelled 448 feet, a team best on the season.
'If you get the top of the order rolling, I think we're pretty dangerous,' Schneider said.
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The announced crowd of 38,537 roared as Guerrero casually dropped the bat to begin a slow trot around the bases. He was 3-for-4 on the night — his 22nd multi-hit game of the season — and had three RBIs.
Schneider moved Barger up a spot to No. 2 in the lineup between Bichette and Guerrero with Alejandro Kirk in the cleanup position.
The move paid dividends as the top third of the order scored five runs had seven of Toronto's nine hits.
'I think Vladdy being comfortable in the three hole is real,' Schneider said. 'The numbers are what they are and conversations with him are what they are.
'I'm glad it worked out today, but I think you have to have people around him to make it work.'
Diamondbacks reliever Shelby Miller (3-2) shouldered the loss as Arizona (36-36) fell back to the .500 mark. Josh Naylor of Mississauga, Ont., had two hits and a run for the Diamondbacks.
The Blue Jays had four outfielders — Will Robertson, Jonatan Clase, Myles Straw and Alan Roden — play in centre field over the course of the game.
Clase got the start but left the game after the fourth inning when he was hit by a pitch in the right knee area. He was replaced by Straw, who suffered a right ankle sprain in the next frame.
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The three-game series continues on Wednesday night.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2025.
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