Hernández's Solo Shot Lifts Blue Jays Over Guardians

Teoscar Hernández's seventh-inning homer broke a tie game and gave the Blue Jays a needed win over the Guardians.

© John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

TORONTO – It's been a familiar sight this season. 

Teoscar Hernández at the dish. A big hack. A gaze at the deep fly ball, and an epic bat flip to finish it all off.

That recipe has brought plenty of joy to Rogers Centre this season. In Saturday's 2-1 Blue Jays win, Hernández put on a show for a sold-out crowd of nearly 45,000.

Guardians starter Triston McKenzie kept Toronto in check until the seventh inning. When the lanky right-hander left a 94-mph fastball on the inner half, Hernández unloaded, ripping a deep blast onto the batter's eye in center field. 

“I was just trying to get on base, not trying to do too much,” Hernández said. “I know I have the power.”

Hernández's solo home run broke a 1-1 tie and wound up being the game-clinching run. Jordan Romano got the last four outs of the contest for his 26th save of the year, tied for the AL lead.

In the fifth inning, before the game-winning blow, Matt Chapman clubbed his 23rd home run of the season. The Jays' third baseman has hit 17 of 23 bombs at Rogers Centre and now moves into a tie with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for the club lead.

Chapman’s been a sparkplug for the Blue Jays during this second half, and Toronto was lifeless before his big fly to left-center. 

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. also extended his hit streak to 22 games with a ringing double off McKenzie in the second inning.

On the mound, Mitch White’s rotation audition continued. The right-hander started the game with seven straight balls and a run allowed in the first but settled in afterward.

“Pretty cool and collected throughout the outing,” manager John Schneider said. “And I think [White] got better a little bit as he went on.”

Cleveland, by nature, is a gritty team. The Guardians strike out fewer than any MLB club and are top-10 in stolen bases. Though they lead the AL Central, they aren’t a powerhouse team, but they get the job done. Ideally, the Guardians are a team White is expected to handle, either as a starter or as a long man. And he did his job Saturday.

Once his fastball command straightened out, the 27-year-old was able to crack out the slider. That pitch generated four swings and misses, as White cruised to retire eight straight batters at one point.

“We talked about getting back foot or just kind of getting something coming at the guys, at the lefties,” White said. [The slider] was a weapon today for sure.”

White's pedestrian stat line (4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 K) won’t necessarily guarantee him a rotation spot over someone like Yusei Kikuchi, but he's certainly in the conversation for added reps going forward. The Blue Jays brought White in because they like what he offers. So far, he's met early expectations.