Kevin Gausman delivered an impressive seven scoreless innings, while Vladimir Guerrero Jr. smashed his 10th home run since the All-Star break, leading the Toronto Blue Jays to a 6-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night.
Will Wagner, a rising star in the majors and the son of former All-Star closer Billy Wagner, continued his strong start with two hits, including a crucial two-run double in the first inning off Angels starter Carson Fulmer, who fell to 0-3. Wagner has been exceptional in his debut, collecting five hits in eight at-bats over his first two games, including three doubles and three RBIs.
The Angels narrowly avoided a shutout thanks to Willie Calhoun’s ninth-inning home run to right-center. Zach Neto also contributed with three hits.
Gausman, now 11-8 on the season, has been dominant, going 5-0 with a 3.19 ERA in his last six starts since July 11. The right-hander allowed six hits, issued two walks, and struck out five, marking the fifth time this season he’s pitched at least seven innings.
Reflecting on his recent success, Gausman said, “I’d probably say it’s my command, even though I’ve been walking a lot of guys, but I’m staying around the strike zone more. I got into a lot of deep counts, but we did a good job mixing my fastball up and down, which opened up my offspeed pitches.”
Gausman showed his veteran prowess in the second inning when the Angels loaded the bases with one out. He induced Jo Adell into a double play, ending the threat.
Angels manager Ron Washington acknowledged Gausman’s skill, saying, “We loaded the bases and did exactly what he wanted us to do. He threw a sinker, we hit it into the ground, and got a double play. He schooled our young club.”
Guerrero extended Toronto’s lead to 4-0 in the third inning by hammering a hanging sweeper from Fulmer into the Blue Jays’ bullpen. This was his second home run in 15 career games at Angel Stadium, where his father, Vladimir Guerrero Sr., played for six seasons and hit 89 homers.
“I thought he took good swings all night,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said of Guerrero Jr. “The game plan against Fulmer was to get him up, and he capitalized on a hanging breaking ball. He’s as good as anyone in the league right now.”
Shortly after Guerrero’s home run, Spencer Horwitz followed with a blast to right-center, marking the second time this season the Blue Jays have hit back-to-back homers, with Guerrero involved in both instances. Guerrero now leads the majors with a .464 batting average (39 for 84) and 22 extra-base hits since the break.
The Blue Jays jumped out to an early lead, scoring three runs in the first inning, highlighted by Wagner’s two-run double. Toronto added to the lead in the third inning with Wagner’s second double of the game and extended it further in the eighth with an RBI single from Joey Loperfido, making it 6-0.
However, the game wasn’t without drama. In the seventh inning, George Springer was ejected by home plate umpire Manny Gonzalez after a replay review confirmed that a pitch from Kenny Rosenberg did not hit Springer’s right foot, as initially claimed. Springer reacted angrily to the ejection and had to be restrained by manager John Schneider and Guerrero.
Major League Baseball later stated that replay official Adrian Johnson couldn’t definitively determine whether the ball had hit Springer’s foot after reviewing all relevant angles. The umpire crew did not comment on the incident, as a report is being submitted to the Commissioner’s Office for further review.
Be the first to comment