The Toronto Blue Jays will play the second of three games against the host Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night likely without five-time All-Star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
A tumultuous start to the series for the American League East-leading Blue Jays on Monday included a bench-clearing incident involving catcher Tyler Heineman and Pirates left fielder Tommy Pham, the ejection of manager John Schneider, three errors which contributed to a 5-2 loss, and Guerrero Jr. exiting in the fifth inning due to left hamstring tightness.
Guerrero is set to undergo an MRI on Tuesday, per Schneider, to determine the extent of the injury. The slugger was believed to have hurt himself while stretching down into a split to catch a throw from shortstop Bo Bichette on an inning-ending groundout in the third inning.
Guerrero has a .298 average with 21 home runs, 69 RBIs and 139 hits in 125 games this season.
“It’s just tightness,” Schneider said after the game, adding, “We’ll see how he is tomorrow.”
Toronto will look to recover its hitting form even if Guerrero is absent from its lineup on Tuesday and back up Max Scherzer (3-2, 3.83 ERA). The three-time Cy Young Award winner will oppose Pirates’ right-hander Mitch Keller (5-11, 4.13).
It remains to be seen whether any tensions spill over from the Monday incident that stemmed from some words exchanged between Heineman and Pham in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Pham drew a walk on four pitches and flipped the bat to the ground in front of Heineman. Heineman jumped up to say something, Pham turned around from his trot to first base, and both benches and bullpens cleared. However, after Toronto’s Ty France and George Springer walked Pham down the first-base line, the players and pitchers cleared the field and play resumed.
“I think it was just a little miscommunication there at home plate,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said.
Scherzer, who is 5-2 with a 2.79 ERA in 14 career appearances (13 starts) against the Pirates, hasn’t put up gaudy strikeout numbers but has been effective this month. He is 2-1 with a 1.89 ERA over his past three starts, and he pitched six or more innings in each of his past four outings.
In his most recent start, Scherzer gave up one run on five hits, walked one and struck out three over seven-plus innings in a 2-1 win over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday.
Keller will try to bounce back after one of his worst outings of the season on Wednesday, when he gave up six runs on eight hits, walked two and struck out five over four innings against the Milwaukee Brewers. It was the most runs Keller allowed in a start since June 8, and he took his first loss since June 21 after having won four consecutive decisions.
Keller won his lone career start against the Blue Jays on June 1, 2024, when he permitted one run on five hits and a walk while striking out eight in six innings during an 8-1 Pittsburgh victory at Toronto.
Kelly praised the efforts of his revamped bullpen of late as new relievers have assumed key roles. On Monday, Dennis Santana converted his second save since the team traded former closer David Bednar to the New York Yankees at the end of July, his eighth save of the season overall.
–Field Level Media
