NEW YORK — Three weeks ago when the Blue Jays were last in New York for the Mets’ home opener, the Citi Field crowd offered Vladimir Guerrero Jr. an unusual welcome during pre-game intros, cheering the all-star first baseman who at the time was a pending free agent. Credit to Mets fans for thinking ahead and trying to put in a good word.
Half-a-billion-dollar extension now done, there’s no longer a need for such forward planning, and Yankees fans once again booed Guerrero the way they so often have in recent years, particularly after his solo shot off Tim Hill to open the sixth inning of Friday night’s 4-2 win.
The home run was his 15th in 43 career games at Yankee Stadium, his highest total at any visiting ballpark. His career OPS in the Bronx is .976, trailing only Boston’s Fenway Park (1.031 in 50 games), Detroit’s Comerica Park (1.028 in 16 games), Baltimore’s Camden Yards (1.009 in 44 games) and Texas’ Globe Life Field (.988 in 12 games) among road cities with a double-digit sample of games.
Guerrero described his success at Yankee Stadium as “a blessing” and conceded that he feels “very comfortable on this field when I’m hitting.” As for the jeers from the stands, “I try not to listen to that,” he said, “but you never hear the fans booing a bad ballplayer. So if they boo you, that means you’re good.”
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Homer No. 15 was a 412-foot laser to left-centre field that remarkably travelled that far despite a maximum height of 58 feet. Taking Hill deep is no easy feat, as last year he allowed only two homers in 67 innings pitched.
“That’s what you work for, especially when you are actually looking for a certain pitch and that was the pitch that I was looking for,” Guerrero said of the sinker he turned on. “I put a good swing on it.”
Such screaming liners are a Guerrero staple – his home run with the lowest maximum height was 34 feet, a 356-foot drive Sept. 13, 2021, when he turned on a 97.1 m.p.h. heater down and in from Tampa’s Adam Conley and sent into over the wall in Toronto’s left-field corner.
Follow the Leader
Some textbook baserunning by the Blue Jays in the ninth inning Friday led to an unusual sight, Andres Gimenez racing on George Springer’s heels from second to home, each scoring on Alejandro Kirk’s two-run double.
And yes, Springer definitely heard Gimenez behind him.
“We both did exactly what you’re supposed to do in that spot,” said Springer. “I’ve got to go back and tag. He’s got to get off as far as he can. He obviously has a much better angle at it than I do, straight out over my shoulder. I was rounding third and I can hear him yelling, ‘Run.’ I look back and he’s a foot-and-a-half away from me. My only thought process was I need to run through the plate so he can slide if that’s what’s going to happen.”
No slide was necessary as the ball was just getting back to the infield and Gimenez earned praise from manager John Schneider for the way he read the play.
Gimenez described his decision-making as instinctual, noting that “once I heard the contact, I knew it was good contact.”
“I saw (Trent) Grisham’s first reaction was forward, so I was like, something’s different here and I was scoring no matter what,” Gimenez added. “If he catches it, it was a great play, so I have the chance to turn around.”
Catching Thieves
Alejandro Kirk threw out not one but two Yankees trying to steal second in the sixth inning Friday, single-handedly snuffing out their attempt at a rally. He’s now caught five runners this season, tied for fifth most in the majors, while allowing only nine stolen bases for a 36 per cent success rate.
“That was very important for the team right there,” Kirk, speaking through interpreter Hector Lebron, said of his throws in the sixth inning. “It was a big situation for them. And to get two runners at second base, the feeling is unbelievable.”
Driving Kirk’s success is a bump in his arm-strength, averaging 79.2 m.p.h. on his throws after sitting at 76.9 and 76.8 the previous two seasons. His throw to get Cody Bellinger was 78.1 m.p.h before he ripped one off at 81 m.p.h. – his second-hardest throw of the season, to catch Jazz Chisholm Jr. and end the inning.
“It’s not just me, it’s the pitchers, too, doing a great job of keeping the runners close to the bag,” said Kirk. “But my arm has been getting better the past few years.”
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