When Vladimir Guerrero Jr. entered the major leagues, he walked right into his father's shadow. Granted, it is quite a large shadow. Nevertheless, for the first couple of years of his professional career, the jury was still out on whether he would truly stand out.
If Wednesday night is any indication, the Blue Jays' star has done just that.
In Game 3 of the American League Championship Series, Guerrero Jr. took Mariners ace George Kirby deep for a solo home run. It is his fourth home run of these playoffs, tying a franchise record set by Jose Bautista back in 2015, according to MLB's Sarah Langs.
It is a bit surprising no one has hit more, considering all of the great hitters in years past. Joe Carter, of course, comes to mind. He is still the only player in baseball history to hit a walk-off home run when trailing to clinch a World Series.
Guerrero Jr. was not the only Blue Jays hitter to have a great night, though.
Through six innings, Toronto has pummeled Seattle's pitching. They have scored 12 runs on 14 hits, hitting four home runs. Andres Gimenez, George Springer and Alejandro Kirk hit the other three.
This was the offense that many expected to see in the ALCS. The Blue Jays embarrassed the New York Yankees in the ALDS, lighting up their pitching with power.
The first two games of this series saw the Mariners turn the tables on the Blue Jays. But it appears Toronto has course-corrected and is on its way to cutting into the series deficit.
Toronto leads 12-2 heading into the seventh inning, as of this writing.
