Getty Vladimir Guerrero Jr’s solo home run wasn’t enough to beat the Yankees on April 6.
Celebrations are a fun part of sports. But if you’re not careful, they can go viral for the wrong reasons.
Just ask Vlad Guerrero Jr., who raised a finger to the New York Yankees home crowd after hitting a home run in the seventh inning, while the Toronto Blue Jays were trailing by seven.
The commentators, Michael Kay and Paul O’Neill, were perplexed, to say the least.
“Shh?! I mean you’re down by six! Wow,” Kay commentated. “He’s a great player but I don’t get that.”
Guerrero told ESPN postgame, “It’s something that I do everywhere regardless the situation.”
He may sit comfortably among this era’s “Yankees killers,” but it didn’t matter on April 6.
According to Stathead, Guerrero Jr. is 36-41 against New York in 78 career games since 2019. He’s maintained a .272 batting average, totaled 50 RBIs, and including his latest, hit 16 home runs against the Yankees.
Guerrero Jr.’s hoping this is the start of an uptick in his 2024 output. It’s been a slow start for the 2023 All-Star.
He’s hitting just .182/.325/.689 with two home runs and two RBIs.
But irregardless of Guerrero’s antics, New York beat Toronto nine runs to eight in a continuation of their hot 2024 start. They’re looking the part of World Series hopefuls.
Especially if Giancarlo Stanton can build off his momentum established in this series.
Giancarlo Stanton Bounce Back Game?
Going into the April 6 win over the Blue Jays, Stanton was batting .125, and had a single home run in the Yankees’ March 29 win over the Houston Astros. Questions were piling up for the 2017 league-MVP.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post went as far as to place Stanton among the MLB’s “most expensive disappointments,” in an April 6 column.
“Stanton is in a specific class of players pushing deeper into their 30s who are beginning to stack worrisome years upon each other while having plenty of seasons left on hefty contracts,” Sherman wrote. “Without those contracts, does Stanton make the Yankees’ roster?”
As if responding to Sherman’s column, Stanton went yard against the Blue Jays, and in grand slam fashion. On a two-two count in the bottom of the third, he gave the Yankees a four to one lead they never looked back from.
It’s Stanton’s 11th career grand slam, which is second among active players, according to StatMuse.
Manny Machado of the Padres has 12.
There’s nothing like a grand slam to get you out of your slump. And the slump isn’t lost on Stanton, who’s already looking ahead to his next at-bat, as he told Greg Joyce of the New York Post following the win.
“Just got to, over and over again, game after game, continue to have good at-bats,” Stanton told Joyce. “Put all four or five of them together, not just one or two and good things will happen.”
Gerrit Cole Making Progress
It’s only going to get better for the Yankees, following another positive update on ace Gerrit Cole. The reigning Cy Young winner is expected to start playing catch in the coming days, manager Aaron Boone told Bryan Hoch of the New York Post pregame on April 7.
It’s the next step for Cole, who’s been sidelined since March 16 after being diagnosed with nerve inflammation and edema in his throwing arm. And it means more defense is on the way for the New York Yankees.
Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
Heavy
