toronto blue jays Hoping to win the first series of their nine-game homestand by winning the rubber match of their three-game set oakland athletics on sunday afternoon
After losing their opening game on Friday on their return from a 4-5 road trip, blue Jays came back with a 7-3 win on Saturday
Danny Jansen and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. each had two-run home runs. blue Jaysand Jose Berrios pitched six solid innings, allowing three runs (two earned) with eight strikeouts.
Left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (6-2, 3.97 ERA) is scheduled to start Sunday in Toronto. In 10 career starts against Oakland, Kikuchi is 1–3 with a 3.75 ERA in 50 1/3 innings.
Rookie right-hander Luis Medina (1-6, 7.01) to start in Oakland, will face blue Jays for the first time
Guerrero caused a stir in the series by hitting home runs in both games. His three-run bomb on Friday was his first at home this season. His explosion in the sixth inning on Saturday gave him 11 points for the season, one more than Jensen.
“Obviously, I feel good,” Guerrero said through a club interpreter. “Much better than two weeks ago, but it doesn’t matter. We still have to keep working, and hopefully I keep getting better.”
Guerrero’s homer on Saturday extended Toronto’s lead to four runs, giving the bullpen a cushion to work with.
“They’re all feeling great,” Guerrero said. “A homer is a homer. I’m on 11 homers now. I try to enjoy it. It’s not easy to do. So all 11 of my homers, I try to celebrate them.”
Guerrero said he looks for the right pitch to hit and tries to avoid chasing pitches out of the zone.
Guerrero said, “Attack. I’m looking for the strike, not trying to chase.”
Guerrero is still off his pace from his last two seasons. He scored 48 and 32 last season to lead the majors in 2022.
“Hopefully (his teammates) can stay there,” blue Jays said manager John Schneider. “I thought, again, he was bowling some pitches down and away.
Despite the insurance provided by Guerrero, Jordan Romano needed a closer to get his 23rd save. He replaced Yimi Garcia, who had allowed two singles in two-thirds of an inning before leaving with right knee pain. Romano struck out the only batter he faced.
blue Jays Saturday’s game started with two runs in the first inning against Oakland opener Shintaro Fujinami, who allowed only two runs before left-hander Hogan Harris took over and allowed four runs in 4 2/3 innings.
“(Harris) did a good job in that lineup and got to the point where it felt good to have him out,” Exercise Manager Mark Kotse. “Hogan did his job today.
Fujinami performed below expectations after recording a 1.35 ERA over 6 2/3 innings over his last six starts.
“He needs to keep the batsmen off balance,” Kotse said. “He didn’t throw enough splitters today to keep him away from the fastball. But he’s had some success lately. We loved having him out there. It didn’t go well for him today.”
Toronto placed right-hander Adam Cimber (injured right shoulder) on the injured list on Saturday and recalled right-hander Bowden Francis from Triple-A Buffalo.
–Field Level Media