Here's the high angle of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. getting back-picked at first by Basallo, so you can see it play out fully (plus the broadcast feed). Just not an out the #BlueJays can be giving away right now.
Guerrero Jr., Scherzer booed as Blue Jays drop crucial opener to O’s
Photo credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
By Thomas Hall
Sep 11, 2026, 23:45 EDTUpdated: Sep 11, 2026, 23:48 EDT
TORONTO — Coming off a brutal series loss to the Athletics in Sacramento this week, the Blue Jays badly needed to put that slip-up behind them with Friday’s series opener against Chris Bassitt and the Baltimore Orioles. There’s nothing like a bounce-back win to help calm the waters. But, in front of another sell-out crowd of 40,000-plus, they laid another dud.
And the fans, to put it lightly, were not pleased.
Multiple waves of boos rained down at Rogers Centre during the club’s 7-4 loss to the O’s. Max Scherzer, charged with six runs earned, all within the first two innings, was the first to be greeted by the fan base’s frustration. They let him have it as he walked into the Blue Jays’ dugout following a five-run top of the second inning.
“I’m accountable for my mistakes,” said Scherzer, who made it through five innings on 83 pitches, preserving several relievers ahead of Saturday’s bullpen day.“I’m not going to cry about it. Obviously, you don’t want to give up those hits, but going back and looking at what the catchers and our coaches and what our game plan was coming in, they just beat me. So I don’t think it’s back to the drawing board. I just need to come up with a better plan.”
In their defence, though, they were probably feeling a bit perturbed after what transpired in the bottom of the first.
With Baltimore leading 1-0, Toronto’s offence had the early makings of a rally after George Springer singled and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. walked, putting runners on first and second base ahead of Alejandro Kirk — the team’s best hitter for nearly the last two months, slashing .326/.386/.496 with a 145 wRC+ (100 league average) since July 22 entering the night. Any time he’s stepped to the plate recently, it’s been a run-scoring opportunity.
This is where playing clean baseball becomes essential. Kirk had a prime opportunity to at least knot the score at one run apiece, if not spark one of those big innings that this team has struggled to string together consistently all year. Instead, Guerrero getting back-picked at first served as a costly second out — a blunder that neutralized a bases-loaded rally as Kirk ended up walking.
“He just got out too far,” manager John Schneider said of Guerrero. “Bud [first base coach Mark Budzinski] was on it, kind of yelling, [Vlad] didn’t hear him… base running plays like that can shift momentum a little bit.”
Guerrero admitted post-game that he lost track of Orioles first baseman Pete Alonso’s positioning moments before the back-pick attempt, something he plans to make an effort to be more aware of moving forward. The fact that it came in the first inning also came as a surprise, saying, “you never expect that.”
“Like I always say, I’m trying to be aggressive, and they got me,” he added. “It’s part of the game. And to me, it’s something that I can get better, and I have to get better at.”
The Blue Jays came away empty in the bottom of the first, and, as it just so happens, the O’s wound up loading the bases in the ensuing half-inning — only they didn’t miss their shot to blow the game wide open.
Another scoring opportunity presented itself for Toronto’s offence as the bottom of the third arrived, albeit with Baltimore holding a 6-0 lead. Still, with Brett Bateman standing on third base and George Springer on first, Guerrero came to the plate with a chance to cut his team’s deficit in half with one powerful swing. Fans cheered, chanting his name. But he struck out on one of Bassitt’s trademark slow curveballs, squandering the chance for a sac-fly with only one out.
Those cheers quickly turned to boos.
Guerrero endured similar treatment from a frustrated fan base during his next two at-bats. Their reactions varied throughout the night, though. One moment they were cheering, the next they were booing.
Take his final plate appearance, for example. After Bateman blasted his first career MLB home run, bringing the score to 7-4, Springer set the table again with a two-out single. Then came Guerrero, who brought the remaining fans to their feet as he kept the train rolling with an infield single. The rally went for naught, as Alejandro Kirk grounded into a game-ending fielder’s choice, but it was further proof of the fan base’s relentless support.
Some nights, though, it feels sort of like a roller-coaster, especially when the face of the franchise remains stuck in a career-worst offensive season.
“You have to understand how they’re feeling,” Guerrero said. “But to me, I don’t care if they boo me or they don’t boo me. I just go out there. I’m just trying to help the team win.”
That’s part of the job in this business. You can’t hide from the critics when things aren’t going well, particularly in a big market like this. To his credit, the 27-year-old fully embraces that responsibility. He knows the weight of his role, and isn’t blaming the fans for expressing their disappointment.
“When you’re good, they love you,” said Guerrero, who now owns a .259/.330/.351 slash line and a 93 wRC+ this season following Friday’s 1-for-5 showing. “When you’re not, they don’t love you.”
He’s disappointed, too. Disappointed he hasn’t been able to figure this thing out yet. Disappointed that his team, after dropping three of its last four games, has fallen back down the AL wild-card standings again. Disappointed that they now sit at 73-75, two games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the final playoff spot.
If the Blue Jays miss the post-season, much of the blame will fall on No. 27. His bat is the ultimate difference-maker. Unless it reignites across these final 14 games — he only has eight remaining to hit his first home run at home this season — there’ll be more boos to come.
After all, Friday night wasn’t the first time we’ve heard them this year.
“If they want to keep doing it, that’s all [the power] to them,” Guerrero stated. “It’s nothing personal. I’m not taking it personal because they paid the ticket… to watch the game. They can do whatever they want.”
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