As the Blue Jays took on the Miami Marlins for Game 2 of their series on Saturday — ending up as a 7-6 win for Toronto after 12 innings — they did so without superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. once again.
Guerrero Jr. was absent from the team’s lineup for the fourth straight game after exiting Monday’s outing against the Pittsburgh Pirates with hamstring inflammation. He is currently listed as day-to-day.
“He felt good yesterday, he felt good again today,” manager John Schneider said ahead of the game, which the Blue Jays won 7-6 in extra innings. “We wanted to check running the bases off the list, and I think with just time being a little bit of the essence today, we didn’t wanna put pressure on him to run and say ‘OK I’m good’ or ‘I feel a little fatigue.’ So still being a little bit cautious with him, but I think if the situation calls for it today, you’ll definitely see him in the batter’s box.”
Guerrero missed the series opener against the Marlins, but Schneider said ahead of the game that he was available off the bench if need be.
He tested his hamstring ahead of Friday’s game, running sprints at loanDepot Park in Miami and taking swings in the batting cage — but the team opted for patience.
Schneider added on Saturday that everything went well, hitting- and running-wise, for Guerrero on Friday.
The injury initially occurred in the bottom of the third inning on Monday against the Pirates, when Guerrero made an impressive stretch, doing the splits on a Bo Bichette throw to save a run and record the final out.
Guerrero, like the first-place Blue Jays, has reached top form this season, recording a .298/.396/.498 slash line on the season with 21 home runs and 69 RBIs. He entered play Monday with a 1.118 OPS and six homers through 15 games in August.