Springer Biggio Guerrero homer on opening day leading Blue Jays over Rays 8-2
Vladimir Guerrero Jr lingered coming out of the batter s box long enough to watch a towering drive off his bat sail well over the centerfield wall Then he broke into a home run trot
Kawhi knee misses G4 no timetable for return
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. lingered coming out of the batter's box long enough to watch a towering drive off his bat sail well over the centerfield wall. Then he broke into a home run trot.
The sixth-inning shot — part of a five-run rally that helped Toronto beat Tampa Bay 8-2 on Thursday — traveled an estimated 450 feet.
Guerrero, though, wasn't so sure.
“I thought it was more than 450," the Blue Jays star said through an interpreter. "But hey, after 400 it’s all good.”
George Springer and Cavan Biggio also homered to pace the season-opening victory. Alejandro Kirk and Bo Bichette drove in two runs apiece for Toronto, which erupted after being limited to one hit — Springer's solo homer in the fourth — off Rays starter Zach Eflin (0-1) through the fifth.
José Berríos, making his second opening-day start for the Blue Jays and fourth overall, gave up a leadoff homer to Yandy Díaz on his fifth pitch of the day and also yielded an RBI double to the defending AL batting champion in the sixth.
“Obviously, we don’t want to start the game the way it started, but I had a mindset this is an opportunity to bounce back, you know, stay in the game. Do your thing, show people that you can control the damage and I did," Berrios said. "Our guys scored a bunch of runs in the fifth. ... and we win the ballgame.”
The Toronto right-hander allowed two runs and six hits over six innings. He walked one and struck out six in the matchup of AL East rivals who both made the playoffs last season.
Eflin, who won 16 games in 2023 after signing a $40 million, three-year contract in free agency, allowed six runs and six hits over 5 2/3 innings in his first career opening-day start. The first three hits off him were homers, including Guerrero's for a 3-1 lead.
“He got that one pretty good,” Rays manager Kevin Cash acknowledged.
Biggio also homered in the sixth, and the Blue Jays broke it open later that inning after Eflin yielded an infield single to Bichette, hit Justin Turner with a pitch and walked Daulton Varsho to load the bases. Kirk followed with a two-run single before Kevin Kiermaier added an RBI single to make it 6-1.
Despite the rocky sixth, Cash felt good about Eflin's outing. After only needing 55 pitches to get through five innings, the right-hander threw 26 in the sixth.
“I don’t know if there was that big a difference. It’s a good hitting team over there,” Cash said. “It looks like they got a couple of breaking balls that they could handle. Then, they started piecing together some good at-bats.”
The opener before a sellout crowd of 25,025 at Tropicana Field was the start of a three-city road trip for the Blue Jays, who are playing their first 10 games on the road while renovations are completed at Rogers Centre.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Blue Jays: Manager John Schneider said ace Kevin Gausman (shoulder fatigue) could make his season debut Sunday or Monday. The right-hander went 12-9 with a 3.16 ERA in 31 starts last season.
Rays: Opened season with nine players on the injured list, including starting RHPs Taj Bradley (right pectoral strain) and Shane Baz (left oblique strain), who are on the 15-day list. Three other starters — lefty Shane McClanahan (Tommy John), right-hander Drew Rasmussen (right elbow) and lefty Jeffrey Springs (Tommy John) — are on the 60-day list and expected to miss either all or a significant portion of the season.
UP NEXT
Second day of a four-game series between the AL East rivals, with right-hander Aaron Civale (7-5, 3.46 last season) starting for Tampa Bay and Toronto countering with right-hander Chris Bassitt (16-8, 3.60).
------
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Arsenal celebrate St Totteringham s Day at the top of the Premier League table the Seville derby was a tense one and more Here s a review of what happened in Europe this weekend
Brandon Pfaadt had a career-high 11 strikeouts Ketel Marte broke a tie with an RBI double in the eighth inning Christian Walker homered and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Seattle Mariners 3-2 on Sunday
With his team leading its first-round series 3-0 Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault was named the NBA s Coach of the Year on Sunday night finishing ahead of Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley and Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch
Offensive tackle Mekhi Becton a former first-round draft pick of the Jets plans to sign a one-year deal worth up to 5 5 million with the Eagles his agents told ESPN
Monterrey vs Necaxa Picks, Odds & Stats? Betting News is your trusted source for betting picks and up to date news
and stats on the NFL, MLB, NHL and many other sports.
Santos Laguna vs Atlético San Luis Prediction, Lineups & Odds? The +115 about Santos Laguna look really attractive when it comes to the
Full-Time Result betting market. We think Atlético San Luis can beSantos Laguna vs Atletico San Luis prediction and betting tips on April 29,
2024? Another match in the 17th round of the Liga MX will be played on Monday in
Torreón, where at the "Estadio Corona," the local club Santos
Look back at 16-Year-Old Scotty McCreery's 'American Idol' Audition That
Left Steven Tyler Flabbergasted? Although taking the stage on American Idol back in 2011, fans will remember
Scotty McCreery as being a dominant force on the hit show.
The Suns are on the brink of elimination — and the future in Phoenix looks
even bleaker? If I was Mat Ishbia, the fresh-faced billionaire owner of the Phoenix Suns,
I would be pretty upset about the $300 million bill for aPaul Pierce's Brutally Harsh Message for Kevin Durant, Suns Amid NBA
Playoff Loss? Paul Pierce hit Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns with a reality check amid
their NBA Playoff loss to the Timberwolves.
Postgame: Media Availability | New York Rangers? newyorkrangers.com is the official Web site of the New York Rangers. New
York Rangers is a trademark of New York Rangers, LLC.
Forget Nvidia: Members of Congress Are Scooping Up Shares of Its Core Rival
Instead? Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) is the 800-pound gorilla of artificial intelligence
(AI). Demand for its chips is through the roof.