ANAHEIM -- Before Thursday’s series finale at Angel Stadium, Blue Jays manager John Schneider said that the bats needed to give their taxed bullpen a chance to rest after back-to-back blown saves. Judging by the 8-5 win over the Angels, it sounds like the players received his message.
“Just kind of kept grinding at it,” Schneider said postgame. “Varsh's big homer to add on there, good baserunning in the inning we scored four. Contributions from everyone. I thought Tony [Anthony Santander] swung it well, I thought Vladdy [Guerrero Jr.] swung it well.”
Guerrero reached base in four of his five plate appearances on Thursday with a walk and three singles -- the last of which loaded the bases in the top of the sixth inning and set the table for Santander’s go-ahead line-drive base hit to left field that scored Nathan Lukes and Bo Bichette.
But his best at-bat of the night, in Schneider’s eyes, was the two-out walk he drew in the top of the fourth inning. Nothing ended up coming of it, but Guerrero worked the count for six pitches after falling behind 1-2. He laid off the last three he saw -- all breaking balls outside the zone -- to take his base, flipping his bat and looking fired up at his dugout as he ran to first.
“I’m always going to compete,” Guerrero said in Spanish. “Obviously, I had two strikes. And to come back from two strikes and get on base was really rewarding for me. I’m trying to get on base so the guy behind me can do his job.”
And that’s exactly what the guy behind him in the sixth inning, Santander, was able to do. He came up to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs. It didn’t just help the Blue Jays take the lead, it opened the floodgates, to have a four-run inning and finish the game with eight runs -- tying their season high -- on 14 hits.
The Blue Jays did a little bit of everything in that sixth inning. They drew walks, got into deep counts, put the ball in play to advance runners and took advantage of an errant throw to score to put a vice grip on the lead. And this time, they didn’t let go of it.
“When we have the whole team doing their jobs, it’s good,” Guerrero said. “Not just me, but every single one of us did their part to win this game.”
Guerrero’s still searching for his trademark power early in the season, but has found other ways to be a consistent spark plug for the Blue Jays. He’s stretching out for tough catches on defense at first base, and he’s hot at the plate even without the long ball. His 3-for-4 performance on Thursday extended his on-base streak to 13 games dating back to April 23. In that span, Guerrero is batting .327 with 16 hits, 11 runs, eights RBI, six walks and an OPS of .924.
“I’m just trying to win,” Guerrero said. “I’m not trying to do any of that. Winning the game is my focus. I’m trying to find the way I can best help the team win.”
The going hasn’t been easy for the Blue Jays of late. Thursday marked just their fifth win in their last 17 games. That can be attributed to many different things -- they’re down a couple of starters. Their bullpen’s been worked heavily over the first month of the season. The team as a whole hasn’t been hitting for power.
But if they’re going to turn it around, they’re going to need Guerrero’s continued production. In any form that presents itself.
“Vlad’s our best hitter when you break it down,” Schneider said. “And when he’s not at his best, he’s still better than most, which sounds funny. We’re going to need him to continue to do that. We’re going to need him to continue to drive the ball. Homers come in bunches with him, so hopefully they come pretty quick, but Vladdy’s really good at controlling his at-bats.”