Guerrero Jr.'s homer provides spark as Blue Jays run past Athletics to victory
Espinal, Collins, Gurriel Jr. pick up RBI's in Toronto victory
A golden sombrero firmly in the rear-view mirror, Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr., was back to his old self Friday.
He hit a solo homer for a lead Toronto wouldn't relinquish in a 4-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics at Rogers Centre in Toronto. Starter Ross Stripling threw four shutout innings and closer Jordan Romano earned his fifth save in the opener of a three-game series.
Guerrero, who had a three-homer game in New York on Wednesday, also singled and walked in a nice bounce-back effort from a rare four-strikeout game a night earlier.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Raimel Tapia and Zack Collins also had two hits apiece for the Blue Jays (5-3).
Guerrero, who leads the major leagues with five homers this season, opened the scoring in the first inning by belting a 2-2 pitch from Oakland starter Daulton Jefferies (0-1). The opposite-field shot travelled 428 feet.
Vladdy REALLY loves giving fans souvenirs 💥 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PLAKATA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PLAKATA</a> <a href="https://t.co/iXuvvYkvQE">pic.twitter.com/iXuvvYkvQE</a>
—@BlueJaysStripling retired the first seven Athletics in order before giving up a double to Kevin Smith. A groundout and lineout left him stranded.
Oakland pinch-hitter Chad Pinder drove in the Athletics' only run in the sixth inning to cut Toronto's lead to 2-1.
Watch Raimel Tapia FLY 🏃♂️ <a href="https://t.co/lqVGvGYRBr">pic.twitter.com/lqVGvGYRBr</a>
—@BlueJaysTim Mayza gave up a pair of singles before being replaced by Adam Cimber (3-0) with one out. Pinder greeted the sidearmer with a single that scored Tony Kemp.
Pinder later stole second to put two runners in scoring position but Cimber got Seth Brown on a pop-up to end the threat.
The Blue Jays tacked on an insurance run in the bottom half of the frame. Santiago Espinal was intentionally walked ahead of Collins, who singled to plate Gurriel from third.
Stripling allowed two hits, had three strikeouts and didn't walk a batter. The right-hander, who was on a pitch count, threw 40 of his 62 pitches for strikes.
"He did what we needed," said Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo. "We needed at least four innings and he gave us exactly that. We were winning when he left the game. Great job by him."
Jefferies, meanwhile, gave up two earned runs for Oakland (4-4). He allowed seven hits and a walk while striking out two over 4 1/3 innings.
Toronto out-hit Oakland 11-6. Announced attendance was 35,415 and the game took three hours to play.
