TORONTO -- Last week, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. picked up the first hit of his Major League career. Now, he has a home run that can be added to the highlight reel.
Gurriel hit a solo homer off Bartolo Colon during Saturday's 7-4 loss to the Rangers, and it was a no-doubter. According to Statcast™, the ball was projected to travel 417 feet and it left his bat at 106.7 mph.
When Gurriel returned to the Blue Jays dugout, he received the silent treatment from his teammates in a good-natured way of initiating him onto the Major League roster.
"It felt great," said Gurriel, who managed to secure possession of the baseball. "It felt awesome to hit my first big league homer, but it would have felt even better if it was in a winning cause.
The 24-year-old Gurriel joined the Blue Jays late last week for a four-game series at Yankee Stadium. Saturday marked his seventh game in the big leagues, and while he entered the game with four singles, the blast against Texas was the first extra-base hit of his career.
Gurriel became the 33rd player in franchise history to homer within his first seven big league games. He is now batting .227 (5-for-22) with four RBIs for the Blue Jays.
"I felt really happy," Gurriel said through an interpreter. "Bartolo is a legend, so I feel even more happy and pumped up that it was against him ... It's something I will never forget in my life."