Guerrero shook a bloody blow to his right finger and won three home games against the Yankees’ rivals, including two by ace Gerrit Cole, in Toronto’s 6-4 victory. “An eerie blow,” New York director Aaron Boone said of Guerrero. “One of the best hitters in the world.” The second MVP of the American League repelled Cole in the first inning, his hand was accidentally hit in a game in the first base in the second, and then he hit a Homer from Cole in the third to give Toronto a 3-0 lead. He doubled Cole in the sixth – pushing Pitcher to make a show by putting his cap on the 23-year-old – then took a 443-foot lead against Jonathan Loisiga in the eighth for a 5-3 lead. “Did you see his night?” Cole said he was available after the match when asked about the tip of the lid. “If you had a lid, you would give it a tip.” It was the second match of three games in Guerrero’s career, matching a high-profile career set last April 27 against Washington. The Blue Jays took two of the three from the Yankees in the series finale on Thursday. New York’s new line-up struggled aggressively during this season that opened the home, even drawing some disapproval from Yankees fans. 2 About Guerrero looked like he had to leave in the second inning when his bare hand was accidentally thrown by the main runner Aaron Hicks. Guerrero had to stretch his body to throw forward Bo Bichette and put his right hand behind the first base to balance. Hicks hit it off and finished a single in the infield. Guerrero, 23, immediately began waving his hand and then headed for the Toronto dugout as blood dripped from his uniform and onto the lawn. In a show of toughness that would surely satisfy hockey fans back in Toronto, Guerrero put on a coaching tape to cut his wound and returned to the first base a few minutes later. With a bloody stain on the right thigh of his pants, he hit the top of the third again and converted Cole’s 98 mph ball to 427 feet, two homer runs and a 3-0 lead for the Blue Jays. Toronto coach Charlie Montoyo said after the victory that Guerrero just did not want to leave the game and that, of course, neither did the team. Montoyo, in the availability of the media, praised the Toronto coaching staff, too, for preparing the first key player to return. “Apart from Vladdy, the coaches were the MVPs tonight,” said Montoyo. Guerrero made two stitches after the game, but said his hand felt fine, although he expected some pain to occur on Thursday. “It’s not that bad,” he said. Guerrero used his right hand for high-fives with head coaches Mark Budzinski and Luis Rivera as he rounded the bases and then clapped his hands accurately before touching the home plate. Guerrero’s first Homer was almost stolen in the center by Hicks, who jumped over the wall and had the ball in his glove for a while. He fell out when Hicks hit the wall, bounced off something beyond the home barrier and fell back into play. A replay confirmed that the ball went out. “I wish it was against someone else,” said New York player Aaron Judge, “so I could have watched it on TV and not seen it live.” Guerrero has four homers in six games this season, having led the big ones with 48 last season. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
