Vlad Jr. exits with right hamstring tightness after infield single
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WASHINGTON -- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. exited in the middle of the fourth inning of the Blue Jays’ game at the Nationals on Tuesday night with right hamstring tightness after running out an infield single in the top of the third.
Kazuma Okamoto entered at first base and then homered in the top of the fifth to close Toronto’s deficit to 7-3.
In his second at-bat of a game delayed more than an hour by torrential storms passing through the region before first pitch, Guerrero pulled Cade Cavalli’s first-pitch offering down the third-base line and raced to the bag to beat the errant throw of the charging Jorbit Vivas.
As Vivas’ throw bounded away from Luis García Jr., Guerrero turned and hustled toward second as the Jays’ first run of the game scored, but showed slight signs of discomfort.
Guerrero has played in 103 of Toronto’s 108 games this season, but has lacked the power stroke fans have come to expect of the six-time All-Star.
He’s slashing .265/.345/.357 with six home runs. The slugging percentage is nearly 100 points off his previous low for a single season, and his homer total is three below the nine he hit during the pandemic-shorted 2020 campaign.