TORONTO — There’s both risk and reward in batting Vladimir Guerrero Jr. third rather than second, and both were highlighted for the Toronto Blue Jays during their series-opening win against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Pushing the star first baseman down a spot in the lineup, with Addison Barger moving between him and leadoff man Bo Bichette, paid off when he produced a 3-for-4 night that included his first home run since May 29.
Guerrero’s career numbers in the three-hole are now .300/.377/.538 in 2,188 plate appearances, compared to .265/.345/.429 in 1,075 plate appearances while hitting second, a sample size big enough that it can’t simply be ignored.
The potential downside of having him at three rather than two, however, nearly emerged in the ninth when Guerrero, due up fourth in the inning, could have been left in the on-deck circle had Shelby Miller protected a 4-3 lead with a three-up, three-down inning.
“That’s like your worst nightmare,” said manager John Schneider.
Bichette and Barger ensured he’d have no bad dreams by hitting back-to-back solo shots for a stirring 5-4 walk-off win Tuesday, although the Blue Jays are again left to wrestle with where best to deploy Guerrero.
“There’s something to it, probably,” Schneider said of the 141-point OPS difference between lineup spots. “There’s something to be said about guys being comfortable, and everything kind of has to work out for you to feel comfortable doing it. You look up in the eighth inning and Vlad’s four hitters away with Will (Robertson in the eighth spot) up. The trust in Barg right now is pretty damn high against righties. So, you want guys to be comfortable, and today it worked out for both parties, both Vlad and Addy.”
Whether it worked out enough for the Blue Jays to do it again is an interesting question.
Guerrero has long said he prefers batting third to second, giving him an extra batter to gauge the starter, which on Tuesday was Brandon Pfaadt, before stepping in. His first time up, he followed up a Barger double with a run-scoring double of his own, crushed a 448-foot solo shot in the third and then, against reliever Ryan Thompson, added an RBI single in the seventh.
Combine that with the Blue Jays being able to go righty, lefty, righty atop the lineup and suddenly the idea of running with Guerrero at three seems like a slam dunk.
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On the flip side, hitting Guerrero second to help position him to get an extra at-bat late in a game seems just as sensible. And while it didn’t factor in Tuesday night, if Miller went 1-2-3 and the game ended without Guerrero getting to the plate, the Blue Jays would have lamented their lineup choice.
“You never want that to happen, right? You want Vlad to have a chance late,” said Schneider. “It’s a constant battle between trying to construct a lineup to where you can put some runs up against the starter, and then who do you want facing high-leverage arms (late). Vladdy being comfortable in the three-hole is real. The numbers are what they are, conversations with him are what they are and glad it worked out today.
“But I think you have to have people around him to make it work,” Schneider added. “He understands the nature of the game. He understands how many times that may come up over the course of the season. And I’ll take Addy against a righty, for sure.”
Guerrero batted third only one other time this season, May 28 at Texas, when he went 2-for-3 with a walk, with Anthony Santander hitting between him and Bichette. He may end up back in the two-spot Wednesday, when the Diamondbacks start lefty Eduardo Rodriguez.
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NAYLOR AND STRAW: Among the people who rushed out to check on Myles Straw after he crashed into the centre-field wall in the fifth inning Tuesday night was Josh Naylor, trotting from second base after arriving at the bag with an RBI double.
The Canadian slugger stood at the base with his hands on his head when he saw Straw being tended to, eventually walking out to the warning track to see his teammate of four seasons with the Cleveland Guardians.
“It’s cool,” Straw said afterwards. “He’s a great dude. He’s one of my best friends in the game. That’s just who he is. He’s a lover. He really, truly cares about everyone. I told the guys in there, like, I’m not doing that for anybody. My brother could be out there and I wouldn’t run out there for him. It’s just the kind of guy he is. I love him. He’s the man. I can’t really say enough good things about him. But it’s a good feeling to know people are out there like that.”
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said it was the “first time I’ve seen” an opposing player make such a gesture, describing Naylor as “apologetic to Myles.”
“He didn’t really say much. He was just, ‘Hey man, hope you’re OK,’ basically, which, pretty cool,” Schneider continued. “You never really see an opposing runner go all the way out to centre. Canadians have nice manners.”
Straw had just entered the game in place of Jonatan Clase, who took his base after being hit on the right knee by a 92.8 m.p.h sinker from Brandon Pfaadt in the fourth inning but didn’t come out for defence after.
Alan Roden, who crashed into the wall making a catch in Philadelphia on Sunday, took over from Straw in centre but was pinch-hit for in the seventh by Davis Schneider, which led to Will Robertson taking over in centre for the eighth.
Straw, who suffered a right ankle sprain, received some treatment as the Blue Jays completed a 5-4 walk-off win and said, “I feel solid” in the clubhouse afterwards.
“Pretty sore, but we’ll get through it.”
He tried to remain in the game, but after testing out his ankle, “I knew there was going to be a better option than for myself to stay in and play. I think I could have physically stayed out there, and I maybe [could’ve] gotten through it. But I know that a healthy person on the bench is much better than me being out there.”
If neither he nor Clase are available Wednesday, the Blue Jays would be without a true centre-fielder, although they could makeshift their way through for a couple days between George Springer, Roden and Will Robertson. R.J. Schreck, starting in centre field Tuesday for the fifth time in eight games with triple-A Buffalo, was hit on the hand in the fourth inning — in the same spot he was hit last week — and came out of the game in the eighth inning.
Nathan Lukes is due to begin a rehab assignment with the Bisons on Wednesday as he works his way back from a concussion.
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