Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is one of the best hitters in the game. He is the star of Canada's only team. On Thursday, in the early contest against the Cleveland Guardians, Guerrero Jr. was hit by a pitch in the right forearm that led to him being removed from the game.

Davis Schneider replaced Vlad, and the Blue Jays shifted the infield around. Schneider moved to second, Ernie Clement moved to first, and then Andres Gimenez slid over to shortstop. Toronto is currently winning 6-0 in the 9th inning and are close to winning the series.

In the third inning, right fielder Nathan Lukes singled to right field to score both Tyler Heineman and Jonatan Clase for the first runs of the game. Then, Miles Straw scored on a throwing error from Kyle Manzardo. Kevin Guasman went 8.0 innings, allowing just two hits and zero runs. He walked only one hitter and struck out six on 104 pitches. Gausman lowered his ERA to 4.21 on the season.

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The Blue Jays followed up with three more runs in the 9th to extend the lead to 6-0. Alejandro Kirk hit a three-run single to left field that scored Addison Barger and Clement, and then Clase scored on a throwing error from Steven Kwan.

The good news for Guerrero Jr. is that his X-Rays are negative. The same thing happened to Fernando Tatis Jr. a few days ago, and he was in the lineup the next day. Guerrero Jr. should not miss much time, if any at all. This team could not afford to lose him. Stay tuned as manager John Schneider or the team should provide an update after the game against the Guardians.

At 42-37, close to 43 wins, they are third in the AL East standings by 3.5 games. The New York Yankees' lead is very thin, and Toronto is 2.5 games back of the Tampa Bay Rays. The Blue Jays currently own the second Wild Card Spot, one game ahead of the Seattle Mariners.

The Jays will take on a divisional opponent this weekend as they head to Boston to play the Red Sox, followed by a date with the Yankees.