TORONTO – On Thursday night, as the Blue Jays defeated the San Francisco Giants, 2-1, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run homer and Toronto starter Chris Bassitt recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts.
Brandon Belt came on after two walks in the sixth, and Guerrero hit a 2-2 splitter off Giants starter Keaton Wynn for his 12th home run of the season.
Basitt allowed three hits and three walks in six appearances. Eric Swanson, Tim Maza, and Jordan Romano each pitched an inning in relief.
Romano, from Markham, Ontario, made his 24th save after allowing a double to Patrick Bailey and a RBI to Blake Sabol.
Toronto (45-37) has won 6 of their last 8 games. The Giants (45 wins, 36 losses) have lost two in a row after winning 10 straight on the road.
Wynn didn’t look nervous in his first start to his career. He allowed only one hit in the first four innings.
Related video
The Rodgers Center crowd of 27,761 roared when JD Davis, who claimed a cold strike in the third, was thrown off by referee John Tampane.
Manager Gabe Kapler was also sent off after leaving the bench to express his thoughts.
The exchange continued for four innings, with Tampane interrupting his at-bat and walking to the San Francisco dugout. He had a brief chat with bench coach Kai Correa.
After being hit by a pitch by Wynn (0-1), Guerrero threw the bat to the grass in the lower half of the frame. The ball appeared to hit the rib area, but the Blue Jays slugger stayed in the game.
Something almost happened in the fifth inning for Toronto, but Joc Pederson ended Santiago Espinal’s liner with a diving catch near the warning line.
Bassitt, who altered his routine to allow catcher Alejandro Kirk to call, used his extensive pitching repertoire to his advantage.
The Giants had their chances but didn’t get the clutch hit they were aiming for. Basitt struck out a side in the sixth inning, increasing his pitch count to 104.
In the ninth inning, Sabol attempted to steal two, and Espinal scored a stunning one-hop tag.
Toronto seemed to have the upper hand, but third baseman Matt Chapman made a throwing mistake that gave the Giants a chance. Romano ended the game by hitting Brandon Crawford with a flyout.
The retractable roof was open under the blue sky, but wildfire smoke wafted into the air. His playing time in the game was 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Vlad Darby
Before the game, the Blue Jays announced that Guerrero would be playing in the Home Run Derby in Seattle next month.
The July 10th exhibition will be held at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park. Guerrero also appeared in the Derby in his rookie season in 2019.
Kirk return
Kirk returned from the 10-day injured list (left hand laceration) earlier in the day. He batted eighth in the batting lineup.
Catcher Tyler Heinemann was an option for the Triple-A Buffaloes.
very soon
The Blue Jays complete a nine-game homestand in the weekend series against the Boston Red Sox starting Friday night.
Right-hander Jose Berrios (8-5, 3.60 ERA) was scheduled to start in the opening game against Boston lefty James Paxton (3-1, 3.19 ERA) from Radnor, British Columbia.
—
This report by the Canadian Press Agency was first published on June 29, 2023.
Follow @GregoryStrongCP on Twitter.
© 2023 Canadian Press
