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Instant Reaction: Addison Barger and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. go back-to-back in Blue Jays’ 5-3 win over Red Sox
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Photo credit: © Eric Canha-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Jun 29, 2025, 15:45 EDTUpdated: Jun 30, 2025, 19:22 EDT
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Another series, another series win.
On Sunday afternoon, the Toronto Blue Jays played the rubber match against the Boston Red Sox, defeating them 5-3 to take two of three in this series and already winning the season series. Let’s take a look at what happened in this one!
It didn’t take long for the Blue Jays to get on the board, as Addison Barger hit a one-out home run, his ninth of the season, for a 1-0 lead.
The next batter up, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., also hit a solo home run, his 12th of the season, to put the Blue Jays up 2-0 without the Red Sox even getting a chance to swing the bats.
In the bottom of the second, Carlos Narvaez hit a solo home run to cut the Blue Jays’ lead in half. Ceddanne Rafaela hit a double to score Trevor Story, tying the game up at two. The game stood that way until the top of the fourth, as Andres Gimenez hit an RBI single, followed by Tyler Heinemann drawing a bases-loaded walk to restore the Jays’ two-run lead.
Nathan Lukes hit an RBI single in the top of the fifth to make it 5-2, but the Red Sox got that run back thanks to Romy Gonzalez’s RBI double. No more runs were scored in this one.

Takeaways…

Addison Barger and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s home runs were the first two home runs the Blue Jays hit in the series. With the home run, Barger is now slashing .260/.321/.485 with nine home runs in 218 plate appearances for a 124 wRC+. What a nice surprise he’s been this season.
Nathan Lukes had a two-hit game, both singles, and Andres Gimenez hit an RBI single. Bo Bichette also had a hit, his 20th double of the season. While it wasn’t a lot, the two home runs were enough for the Blue Jays’ win.
Eric Lauer made the start, giving up three earned runs in four and one-third innings pitched, striking out four. It wasn’t his best start, as his ERA jumped to 2.60. Yariel Rodriguez continues to be excellent, striking out a batter in his inning and two-thirds pitched. He generated a pop-up and flyout to get out of a jam.
Brendon Little pitched a clean inning with a strikeout, Nick Sandlin walked a batter in his scoreless inning, and Jeff Hoffman struck out the side for his 18th save of the season.
With the series win, the Blue Jays have won eight of their last 10 series. This gives them a 45-38 record, just three games behind the New York Yankees for the division lead. Up next for the Blue Jays is a four-game series against the Yankees back in Toronto. That game starts Monday at 7:07 PM ET with their starter to be determined.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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