Vladimir Guerrero Jr. goes 2-for-4 in return to lineup

Guerrero was back in Toronto’s lineup after missing one game due to right hamstring tightness. The 27-year-old slugger has experienced an unexplained power outage this season, hitting just six big flies through 104 contests. Amazingly, none of them have been hit at the Rogers Centre. It’s one of the strangest outlier campaigns from an established fantasy star that any of us have witnessed.

The 27-year-old slugger was held out of Wednesday’s lineup due to tightness in his right hamstring, but he appears to be doing much better after a couple of days off. He’s back in there at first base and batting second against Cardinals’ right-hander Kyle Leahy on Friday evening in Toronto.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Guerrero Jr. is “feeling better” and “probably available to pinch-hit” if needed. We would not expect to see Guerrero Jr. play today, but it seems like he’ll avoid the injured list. Kazuma Okamoto will start at first base with Ernie Clement at third base and Davis Schneider at second base.

It feels like a precautionary move, but that’s purely speculation at this juncture. Guerrero will undergo further evaluation to determine the severity of the situation after being lifted for a defensive replacement in the fourth inning. He finished 1-for-2 at the plate. There should be an update on his status prior to Wednesday’s series finale at Nationals Park.

Not ideal. Guerrero was replaced by Kazuma Okamoto at first base in the fourth inning after going 1-for-2 at the plate. The 27-year-old has been battling a back issue throughout the entire season, so it’s possible that it flared up again on him. There should be an additional update on his status shortly.

Guerrero grounded out in the first inning, then reached in each of his next four plate appearances. He put the Blue Jays on the board with a base hit to drive in a run in the third inning, then added a base hit in the fourth before drawing a walk in the seventh. A single in the ninth brought an insurance run in for Toronto. The 27-year-old first baseman is hitting .267/.348/.358 with six homers, 54 runs scored, 44 RBI, and seven steals across 425 plate appearances.

With his team having totaled two runs the last three days, Jays manager John Schneider will just keep tweaking things until something clicks. Nathan Lukes and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who have been hitting second and third, respectively, have both been moved up one slot tonight. Kazuma Okamoto is down to sixth after spending most of the last month batting fourth and fifth.

Guerrero’s inexplicable decline continued with another hitless performance, dropping his season OPS below the .700 mark. The 27-year-old has managed just six home runs through 95 games after clearing the 20-homer plateau in each of the previous five seasons. Few hitters possess his ability to snap out of an extended slump in an instant, but there have been very few signs that a turnaround is coming with only two months remaining. Barring an unexpected power surge, this will go down as one of the most puzzling non-injury-related seasons by an established fantasy superstar in recent memory.

Guerrero’s double in the fourth was cranked 107 mph to the wall in center and missed being a homer by a foot or two. George Springer went on to single him in afterwards. Guerrero also had three balls hit in excess of 105 mph last night, so taking the All-Star break off might have done him and his back some good.

Guerrero’s three-run homer tied the game at 7-7, and was a towering shot over the left-field wall off Bradgley Rodriguez. That’s just the sixth homer of the season for Guerrero, but it’s the second time in three games, for those looking for hope heading into the break. Guerrero is as good of bet as any disappointing hitter in baseball to bounce back with a big second half after the All-Star break.