Vlad Guerrero Jr. walks it off to trigger clutch Blue Jays comeback

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Prior to a night when he would deliver his latest clutch hit for a big Blue Jays win, Vlad Guerrero Jr. was talking about what it means to him to have success at the Rogers Centre.

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He’s comfortable here, he said, and feels like it’s his home. He loves the fans. He likes the park. And more importantly, he loves to win here.
Hours later with his team needing one of those big Vlad moments to recover from a blown lead that would have been crushing had it ended in a loss, Guerrero delivered with a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to give the Jays a 6-5 win.

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“Since I’ve gotten here, I’ve always felt very comfortable here,” Guerrero said through team translator, Hector Lebron. “This is my house. I don’t see it any other way.”

With most of the 27,140 at the Rogers Centre standing and chanting his name, Guerrero showed just how comfortable he was with the game on the line.
After an RBI single from Bo Bichette before him had tied it, Guerrero entered the batting box with the renewed poise he has shown in recent weeks.
And when he belted out the winning single up the middle to send George Springer across the plate with the winning run, the house showed just how much they loved him.

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It was an almost unlikely win given the struggles of the bullpen that took over after Ross Stripling could only serve up five innings. Adam Cimber got through the sixth unscathed but when Trent Thornton allowed a two-run homer to Rob Refsnyder in the seventh to tie it at 4-4, the wild roller coaster was under way.

The Sox would take their first lead of the game in the eighth, but the resilience of the Jays that we’ve seen repeatedly this season, was in force again.
And with an opportunity to rescue the flagging bullpen, it was one of their big hitters over the past few years who came through as the Jays captured their MLB-leading 18th one-run win of the year.

Guerrero said the comfort he feels at the Rogers Centre helps in key situations, like the game on the line moment on Tuesday that improved the Jays home record to 23-14 this season.

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“I don’t really get focussed on trying to hit it to specific spots, like hitting it in the upper deck or anything like that,” Guerrero said. “I just want to hit it hard. I know that if I do that, the ball’s going to go far or find a hole.”

It certainly did on Tuesday, in the form of a game winner that rescued the latest struggles of the bullpen.

The winning rally started with who else but super hero catcher Alejandro Kirk, who led off the ninth with a pinch-hit single. That clutch effort was followed by a Springer, Bichette’s game-tying knock and ultimately Guerrero’s winner.

Guerrero’s teammates have been noticing how he’s been heating up of late. With nine homers in June, he’s becoming closer to the force he was for much of last season.

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“He’s starting to get hot and he’s being a little more patient at the plate,” said outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, who got things going with an RBI double in the first inning on Tuesday. “He had a period of time where he wasn’t as patient. It’s part of the process and he’s learning that. He seems to be doing much better now.”

Tuesday’s effort was the latest example as he earned a walk and a single earlier in the night, a 2-for-4 effort that was his 18th multi-hit game of the season.

“He’s hitting the ball harder,” Hernandez said. “He’s not swinging at as many balls out of the zone. He’s understanding the game more.”

And delivering like he always has.

GAME ON

With the bullpen reeling and the top of the Red Sox order up in the ninth, Jays manager Charlie Montoyo went to closer Jordan Romano — who needed some work almost as much as the Jays needed a shut-down effort from a reliever. In just his sixth appearance in June, Romano allowed a walk but nothing more, finishing it off with a strikeout of Bogaerts to keep the game within reach … With the win, the Jays improved to 14-15 in divisional games and 7-2 on the season against the Sox … The Jays opened up a nice lead with a three-run first inning, adding another in the third for a 4-1 edge on their way to their third walkout win of the season.

AROUND THE BASES

A well-deserved day off for Kirk, who will catch Alek Manoah in Wednesday’s finale of the three-game series … No holding your breath on a potential return of Nate Pearson any time soon. It will be three weeks before the injury-riddled pitcher will even start tossing after his most recent setback, a lat strain he suffered with the triple-A Buffalo Bisons on June 19 … The Jays have come to terms with reliever Sergio Romo, pending a physical which was scheduled to take place on Tuesday. The 39-year-old right hander was at the Rogers Centre and in uniform prior to the game.