TORONTO – Golden sombrero, firmly in the rearview mirror, weakening Blue Jays Vladimir Guerrero Jr., returned to his old self on Friday.
He hit solo Homer for a lead that Toronto would not give up in a 4-1 victory over the Auckland Athletics at Rogers Center. The start of Ross Stripling threw four innings for exclusion, and closer to Jordan Romano won his fifth save at the beginning of a series of three games.
Guerrero, who had a three-home game in New York on Wednesday, also excelled and made a good rebound from a rare four-out game the night before.
“He is definitely a force,” said Athletic manager Mark Kotsai. “He showed that tonight in his first bat and all night. He’s a dynamic player.”
Lourdes Guriel Jr., Raimel Tapia and Zach Collins also had two goals for the Blue Jays (5-3).
Guerrero, who is leading the big championships with five Homers this season, opened the scoring in the first inning, scoring 2-2 with Oakland starter Daulton Jeffries (0-1). The shot from the opposite field went 428 feet.
Stripling withdrew the first seven Athletics in a row before ceding a double to Kevin Smith. Grounding and line left him at a dead end.
Auckland striker Chad Pinder scored in Athletics’ only series in the sixth inning to reduce Toronto’s lead to 2-1.
Tim Mayza gave up a pair of singles before being replaced by Adam Simber (3-0) with one out. Pinder greeted the gunsmith with a single scored by Tony Kemp.
Pinder later stole a second to score two points, but Cimber made Seth Brown jump out to end the threat.
The Blue Jays took out insurance in the lower half of the frame. Santiago Espinal was deliberately overtaken by Collins, who indicated to put Gurriel in third.
Gurriel was back in the seventh when he scored George Springer, who took the lead from the inning with a double.
Stripling conceded two goals, had three outs and did not make a battery. The right-hander, who was on the field, threw 40 of his 62 shots.
“He did what we needed to do,” said Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo. “We needed at least four innings and he gave us just that. We won when he left the game. Great job from him.”
Meanwhile, Jeffries gave up two won runs for Auckland (4-4). He allowed seven hits and a walk while drawing two over 4 1/3 innings.
Toronto beat Auckland 11-6. The announced attendance was 35,415 and the game took three hours.
FAMOUS PERSON
Toronto’s third baseman Matt Chapman made a 0-for-2 run in his first game against Athletics since the Blue Jays acquired him from Auckland last month.
Chapman has played 573 games for Auckland in five seasons.
CONSTRUCTION
Toronto right-winger Nate Pearson is scheduled to hold a session on bullpen on Saturday as he tries to recover from a mononucleosis attack. He threw from 90 feet on Wednesday.
Exercising live cotton wool would be the next step if Pearson continues to make progress, Blue Jace manager Charlie Montoyo said before the game.
MOTION ROSTER
Athletics put outfielder Stephen Piscoti on the COVID-19 injury list on Friday, while hunter Austin Allen and leftists AJ Puck and Kirby Sneed were added to the limited list.
Hunter Christian Betancourt, infiltrator Drew Jackson and pitchers Zack Lough and Ryan Castellani have been named as alternates on the active list.
HALL DISPLAY
As part of the celebrations marking the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s debut in Major League Baseball, an exhibition of artifacts from the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame was on display at the north end of the stadium.
The exhibition included souvenirs from the Negro League, photos of Robinson and additional art. The players of both teams wore number 42 during the match.
ON THE DECK
Toronto left-hander Hyun Jin Ryu (0-0, 16.20 ERA) makes his second start of the season to the Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon. The athlete will turn to the right Paul Blackburn (1-0, 0.00).
Ryu was marked for six runs over 3 1/3 innings in a 12-6 loss to the Texas Rangers last weekend.
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This report from The Canadian Press was first published on April 15, 2022.
Follow @GregoryStrongCP on Twitter.
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