Tempers flare as Vlad Guerrero Jr. exits Blue Jays win over Guardians after getting drilled

National Post

11 hours ago

A three-game midweek series in Cleveland was supposed to be all about the return to the mound of Blue Jays would-be ace starter Max Scherzer and the feel-good element of getting a star player back in the lineup.
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Instead, there was at least some concern about the status of their highest-paid player as all-star first baseman Vlad Guerrero Jr. was drilled in the right forearm by a pitch from Guardians starter Tanner Bibee in the third inning of a matinee in Cleveland.
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And, as a bonus, a pitcher who had been struggling came up big with his best outing this month.
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First, to Guerrero. After staying in briefly after getting hit, the Jays $500-million man was removed from the game after camera shots showed him wincing while attempting to hold a bat.
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The Jays later announced that X-Rays on Guerrero's arm were negative for any fracture and diagnosed with a right-arm contusion as initially, anyway, the team appeared to dodge a serious injury to their superstar on their way to a decisive 6-0 win in the rubber-match of the series.
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Front and centre in the contest was Jays starter Kevin Gausman, who most importantly finished off what had been a terrible June with a terrific outing in which he blanked the Guardians over eight innings, allowing just two hits while striking out six.
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The veteran right-hander endeared himself to his own dugout in another way when he plunked the first batter he faced in the fourth inning, nailing Guardians slugger Jose Ramirez with a fastball to the forearm — an emphatic volley of retaliation.
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If there was hope that the tit-for-tat retribution would end matters, they didn't. After learning that Ramirez would be leaving the game after the hit, Guardians manager Steven Vogt was incensed as the inning ended and stormed toward the Jays dugout where he was yelling at Toronto manager John Schneider. The diagnosis for Ramirez after an X-Ray was the same as Guerrero's.
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The Jays clearly had seen enough, given that Guerrero was plunked with a pitch for the second time in as many games against the Guardians.
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Though the initial diagnosis obviously is encouraging, Toronto can ill afford to lose their most dynamic hitter for any period of time. Guerrero had been heeting up at the plate of late, including belting his 11th homer of the season in a loss on Wednesday.
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With Gausman dealing, the Jays were able to navigate a lineup light on regulars. Outfielder George Springer and catcher Alejandro Kirk were given scheduled off days while regular shortstop Bo Bichette was the DH. Add the loss of Guerrero and prevailing over the Guardians was even more impressive.
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With the win, the Jays improved to 43-37 and have now won 17-of-26 as they were to take a charter flight to Boston for a three-game weekend series against their division rival.