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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit two home runs to power the Blue Jays to a 4-0 victory over the Rangers
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Photo credit: © Raymond Carlin III - USA Today
Ryley Delaney
Sep 19, 2024, 17:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 19, 2024, 17:43 EDT
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The Toronto Blue Jays are excellent at avoiding being swept.
On Thursday afternoon, they played the third and final game of the series against the Texas Rangers, defeating the reigning World Series champions 4-0, the ninth time the Blue Jays pitchers have held the other team to zero runs.
A big reason for that is because, once again, the Blue Jays carried a no-hitter into the sixth-inning or beyond. This time, it was Kevin Gausman pitching five innings of no-hit ball, while the recently-called-up Dillon Tate pitched a clean inning in the sixth inning. The fourth no-hit bid of the season was broken up in the bottom of the seventh, as Josh Smith hit a lead-off single off GĂ©nesis Cabrera.
Unlike Wednesday, the bats had a solid day as well, more specifically, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a great day. He led off the top of the seventh with his 29th home run of the season.
In his next at-bat, Guerrero Jr. became a three-time 30 home run hitter, as he hit another solo home run to make it 4-0.

Diving into the stats…

Through five innings, Kevin Gausman had 58 pitches (38 of which were strikes) while not giving up a hit. It was quite odd to pull him with that pitch count, especially during a no-hit bid. However, it was reported that the Blue Jays pulled him because of lower back tightness.
This was Toronto’s fourth time with a no-hit bid going into the sixth inning. Of course, three of those bids were Bowden Francis’, who had two no-hit bids into the ninth inning in four starts, along with a no-hitter broken up in the sixth in between.
Moreover, Gausman had a no-hit bid in May 23rd’s game against the Detroit Tigers. Jaiver Báez broke that up in the sixth inning in a game that also featured a cycle watch (Isiah Kiner-Falefa) and really weird technical issues.
The Jays had seven hits in the game. On top of the two home runs, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. also had a single for a three-hit day. Spencer Horwitz also had a multi-hit day, as he had two singles, while Ernie Clement and Davis Schneider each hit a single.
It’s not really that important, but Leo Jiménez was hit by a pitch again, the 15th time that’s happened this season. His HBP% now sits at 8%.
As for the rest of the pitching, Dillon Tate made his Blue Jays’ debut and struck out two. Génesis Cabrera struck out a batter in a scoreless inning, Erik Swanson pitched a clean inning, and Chad Green allowed a hit while striking out a batter.
The road trip continues for the Blue Jays, as they’ll head to Tampa Bay to face the Rays on Friday. Game one comes at 6:50 PM ET, with José Berríos expected to start for the Jays.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.

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