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After Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a clutch home run to seal a series win against the Boston Red Sox, a discussion about the hierarchy in the AL East has started. Before the Blue Jays take on the Cleveland Guardians on Friday night, Guerrero spoke about the mindset of his team after an impressive series.
Guerrero would hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth to give Toronto a two-run lead, which proved to be the go-ahead score of the contest. Talking to the media through an interpreter after the outing, Guerrero would speak about the resilience of the team, according to MLB.com.
“We never give up,” Guerrero said through a club interpreter. “We never give up regardless of the score, we could be down 18-3 or whatever it is, we’re still going to go out there and compete.”
Toronto manager John Schneider speaks about how comebacks fuel the emotions of the team, especially after a big series win over a divisional rival.
“I think I got punched by Pete [Walker] and Lou [Iannotti] there when Vlad hit that,” Schneider said. “I might have pulled a calf muscle, too. It gets you going. You can flip the leverage with one swing. It’s huge. It’s nice to peck away and chip away and add on runs, but when you get a big swing like that? It goes a little further. Emotions are real. Momentum is real. When you have those big swings in the game, it feeds the energy.”
Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. speaks on “coming off a difficult week”
It wouldn't be the first time the Blue Jays did a comeback against the Red Sox this season, with the previous one happening off a walk-off on Wednesday night. But looking at Thursday's victory, Guerrero showed why the team gave him a $500 million contract.
“I’m obviously feeling good right now. We’re coming off a difficult week for us, and it was hard, a hard stretch,” Guerrero said as the team lost seven of their last eight games before the series with Boston. “It’s a difficult schedule, too, but we’re here right now and we’re getting better. Things are turning around, especially with us beating a team like Boston, a great team. That says a lot about us.”
So far this season, Guerrero is hitting a .267 batting average to go along with four home runs and 17 RBIs in 31 games and 116 plate appearances. Seeing Guerrero and the team come alive during a pivotal early-season series gives Toronto “momentum,” as said by Schneider.
“It’s big to win a series against a division opponent that’s swinging the bat pretty well. They’re good,” Schneider said. “These last two nights, though … I said it last night, that I hoped it gave us a bit of momentum. I think Vlad took that a little bit further.”
The Blue Jays are now 15-16, which puts them third in the division as they start a three-game series on Friday night.
