The Yankees left Vladimir Guerrero Jr. bloodied, but the Blue Jays’ young star inflicted the most serious damage in return.
Guerrero crushed three home runs — they combined to travel an estimated 1,286 feet — and also added a double to take over the game and just about single-handedly send the Yankees to a 6-4 loss on Wednesday night in The Bronx.
The Blue Jays first baseman had gotten inadvertently spiked by Aaron Hicks on an infield single in the second inning, but after getting the finger that was gushing blood bandaged up, he remained in the game for a night to remember.
“I wish it was against somebody else so I could watch it on TV and I didn’t see it live,” Aaron Judge said. “But that’s the type of player he is. He can take over a game. … He’s going to be a tough opponent all year.”
Guerrero homered in his first two at-bats against Gerrit Cole to stake Toronto to a 3-0 lead before staying in the park for a double in the sixth inning, to which Cole tipped his cap.
“If you had a cap, you’d tip it too,” said Cole, who gave up three runs over 5 ²/₃ innings in a step forward from his tough Opening Day start. “It got better after that, too. My goodness.”
Guerrero eventually got two stitches in the wounded finger, but looked no worse for wear throughout the night.
“I already had it in my mind that I wasn’t coming out of the game no matter what,” Guerrero said through an interpreter.
After the Blue Jays reclaimed a one-run lead, Guerrero smashed another home run to lead off the eighth inning against Jonathan Loaisiga for the 5-3 advantage.
Guerrero’s monster night, with a little help from his teammates, was enough to sink the Yankees. Gleyber Torres got a run back with a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth to make it 6-4, and pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton put a charge into the crowd with what the 30,109 fans in attendance thought was a two-run shot, only for the fly ball to land in a glove on the warning track.
The Yankees then put a runner on first in the bottom of the ninth, but Guerrero fittingly ended it with a slick backhanded snag of a line drive by Josh Donaldson.
Guerrero’s first home run of the night was nearly robbed by Aaron Hicks in center field. After a leaping Hicks briefly caught the ball in his glove, it got jarred loose and appeared to hit the top of the wall before bouncing back onto the field. Umpires initially ruled it did not go out, but after huddling together, determined it was a home run to put the Blue Jays up 1-0 in the first inning.
In the third inning, Cole hit his spot with a 98 mph inside fastball to Guerrero, who turned on it for a two-run shot and the 3-0 lead.
“When he’s got that swing going, he’s just better than everyone else. It doesn’t matter who’s on the mound,” Anthony Rizzo said.
After a slow start offensively from the Yankees, they quickly caught fire with one out in the fifth inning. Rizzo and Judge clobbered back-to-back home runs before doubles from Donaldson and DJ LeMahieu tied it 3-3.
But the Blue Jays went back on top in the seventh inning off Chad Green. A walk and catcher’s interference put runners on first and second with one out, when Santiago Espinal hit what looked like an inning-ending double play to third base. But Torres could not get the ball out of his glove cleanly on the turn at second base. It gave the Blue Jays an extra out, which George Springer took advantage of with an RBI single for the 4-3 lead.
Guerrero took care of the rest.
“It was the trailer last year,” Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said of the 2021 AL MVP runner-up. “This year is the movie.”
— Additional reporting by Peter Botte
