The Blue Jays got the kind of night that can change the mood in a hurry: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. finally left the yard at Rogers Centre, George Springer joined him, and the lineup kept stacking runs until the game got away.
Guerrero’s homer was the headline, but it came with a little frustration attached. He actually would have had two long balls if not for the wind knocking one back down into a double.
Even so, he still put together a loud night, finishing with four hits - a homer, a double, and two singles - and he also came within a triple of the cycle. His batted balls came off at 115.5 mph on a single, 105.3 on the double, 94.0 on the homer, and 82.3 on another single.
The homer traveled 350 feet. The double went farther, but to center.
Springer was right in the middle of it too, and so was someone a little less expected. Springer and Okamoto homered on either side of Guerrero in the fifth, giving Toronto a back-to-back-to-back burst that flipped the inning in a flash.
The scoring started earlier. In the second, Charles McAdoo opened the frame with a single and Andrés Giménez doubled him in.
Then the Blue Jays put the game on ice with a four-run eighth. Nathan Lukes walked, Brandon Valenzuela singled and stole second two outs later, Myles Straw drew a walk, and Brett Bateman walked in a run.
Springer capped the inning with a double that brought in three more after the Orioles left fielder let it bounce past him.
Toronto finished with 10 hits, including the three home runs, and drew five walks. Springer had two hits. Bateman walked twice, while Clement and Straw each drew one walk and finished with no hits.
On the mound, Dylan Cease wasn’t razor-sharp, but he still gave the Jays five innings of one-run ball. He allowed four hits and five walks while striking out nine, and he was done after 94 pitches.
The bullpen covered the rest from there. Ricky Tiedemann allowed a hit and a walk while striking out one and recording two outs.
Braydon Fisher got the final out of the sixth. Mason Fluharty gave up a single and struck out a batter in the seventh.
Tyler Rogers worked a similar eighth inning. And with the offense piling on four runs in the eighth, Michael Lorenzen handled the ninth, giving up two singles and striking out one.
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