MIAMI – A road trip that began against Paul Skenes ended against Eury Perez, and unfortunately for the Toronto Blue Jays, the outcome was similar against each young phenom.
In the series finale at loanDepot Park Sunday, the 22-year-old Perez out-pitched Kevin Gausman on the way to a 5-3 Miami Marlins win that prevented the Blue Jays from securing their 10th sweep of the season or creating further breathing room in their quest for an AL East title and first-round playoff bye.
Instead, they fell to 76-55 before returning to Toronto for a homestand against the Twins and Brewers that starts Monday.
A late three-run home run by Daulton Varsho made the game close, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. came off the bench as a pinch hitter only to pop up, but that wasn’t enough to beat the Marlins, who got an early home run from Eric Wagaman and a bases clearing triple by Jakob Marsee to establish an early 4-0 lead.
As the late innings developed Sunday, Guerrero Jr. could be seen pacing within the Blue Jays’ first base dugout. By the seventh inning, he was holding a bat and wearing his pink elbow guard. By the eighth inning, his helmet was on and he was ready to return to action for the first time since Monday, when he aggravated his left hamstring on a stretch at first base in Pittsburgh.
Facing right-hander Ronny Henriquez with two runners on, Guerrero Jr. worked a seven-pitch at-bat before popping up to first to erase the threat and end the inning.
Afterwards, the Blue Jays opted to keep Guerrero Jr. off the field, a sign that his hamstring isn’t completely back to normal. Instead of playing Guerrero Jr. at first base, they moved Ernie Clement to first while shifting Davis Schneider to third and putting Myles Straw in left – far from their optimal defensive setup, though palatable enough for an inning or two.
With all of that in mind, Guerrero Jr.’s status still bears watching as the Blue Jays return home. The 26-year-old has progressed steadily over the course of the road trip, completing infield work, baserunning drills and on-field batting practice in Miami over the weekend. But even as he cleared those hurdles, both he and the coaching staff have stressed the importance of patience.
As for Gausman, he pitched well beyond the big hits to Wagaman and Marsee, with seven strikeouts compared to just one walk. All told, he allowed four runs on seven hits as his season ERA climbed to 3.87.
But after watching Shane Bieber dominate in his Blue Jays debut Friday and Jose Berrios bounce back with a stellar performance Saturday, Gausman’s effort wasn’t quite enough, and once Gausman left, Yariel Rodriguez allowed the Marlins to score an insurance run.
Meanwhile, Varsho’s impressive August continued with his seventh home run of the month. The centre fielder now has 15 home runs on the season despite playing in only 43 games, and his season OPS climbed to .879.
Next up, a chance to gain further ground against a Twins team that got dismantled at the trade deadline. With Joe Ryan pitching opposite Max Scherzer in the series opener, the Blue Jays are in for another tough test at the plate Monday, but these three games still represent a real opportunity before the MLB-leading Brewers arrive in Toronto over the weekend.
