The Toronto Blue Jays will be without Vladimir Guerrero Jr. again for the second straight game.
Guerrero left Sunday’s game after being hit by a pitch, as he immediately took himself out of the game and walked into the dugout. Although the X-rays came back negative, Guerrero wasn’t in the lineup in the series opener on Monday, and he’s once again out of the lineup.
Toronto’s lineup on Tuesday against the Miami Marlins is as follows:
- G. Springer DH
- D. Varsho CF
- J. Sánchez RF
- K. Okamoto 3B
- Y. Piñango LF
- E. Clement 2B
- A. Giménez SS
- B. Valenzuela C
- L. Sosa 1B
Toronto will be starting Braydon Fisher as an opener while Spencer Miles is expected to pitch the bulk of the innings.
Guerrero not being in the lineup again is a concern, as it’s now been two games he’s been out due to the injury, and perhaps an IL stint could be needed. In his place, Lenyn Sosa will start at first base, who has struggled at the plate this season since Toronto acquired him from the Chicago White Sox.
The Blue Jays slugger has struggled with power this season, hitting .287 with 3 home runs and 22 RBIs, which isn’t up to his standards.
Guerrero Injury Not Considered Serious
Although Guerrero left Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the injury wasn’t considered serious.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said the pitch caught Guerrero in a weird spot, which made him numb, which led to him leaving the game right away.
“He usually doesn’t come out of a game. He’s pretty tough,” Schneider said postgame on Sunday. “I followed him and he just said, ‘I can’t feel my hand.’ It was kind of like (hitting) a funny bone, but travelling at 90-plus miles an hour.”
Along with Guerrero, Dylan Cease also left Sunday’s game with an injury, and it wasn’t considered serious either. However, after an MRI, he was placed on the 15-day IL due to a hamstring injury.
“Mild is the key word, I think, so hopefully it’s not too long,” Schneider said. “He was encouraged with how he felt after the MRI showed just a mild-to-moderate strain. …He wants to pitch. I think he’s being smart about it, too. The risk-reward of losing him for a long time as opposed to two (starts) kind of outweighed that.”
Cease is 3-3 with a 3.05 ERA this season with the Blue Jays, after signing a seven-year, $210 million deal.
Toronto Drops First Game to Marlins
The Blue Jays dropped the first game of the series to the Marlins on Monday by a score of 8-2.
Rookie left fielder Yohendrick Pinango made two glaring misplays in the sixth inning, which directly led to three runs scoring, which was frustrating for Toronto.
“Just the fundamentals of baseball, outfielder always has priority over the infielder,” Schneider said. “You learn from it, hopefully, and move on. Those plays can obviously change the trajectory of the game pretty quickly.”
Had Pinango made the first catch, the inning would have been over, and perhaps the game would have been different. Yet, that didn’t happen, and the Blue Jays will look to even up the series on Tuesday.
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