Blue Jays rookie phenom Vladimir Guerrero Jr. survived a scary moment during Friday’s opener against the Astros. He stepped up to the plate against Houston’s Gerrit Cole in the first inning, but saw just one pitch from the righty before he was drilled in the hand with a 96.3-m.p.h. fastball.
Following a consultation with a team trainer, Guerrero returned to take his post at third base in the bottom of the inning. He then made his exit in the bottom of the second and underwent further evaluation while Eric Sogard subbed in at the hot corner.
While reports returned negative for any fracture in Guerrero’s hand -- a definite relief given the potential devastation such news would carry -- he’ll likely be day-to-day for the time being. The 20-year-old infielder entered Friday’s game batting a hearty .268/.329/.463 with seven home runs, 16 RBI, and 0.3 fWAR through 164 plate appearances so far in 2019.
