The first act of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s breakout season officially has its trademark moment.
Guerrero launched three home runs against the Nationals on Tuesday night in Dunedin, Fla., single-handedly carrying the Blue Jays to a 9-5 win with the biggest night of his Major League career. The young star got it started in the third inning when he stepped in with the bases loaded against Max Scherzer for a battle of best on best.
Down three, a steep hill to climb against Scherzer, Guerrero launched the go-ahead grand slam deep over the left-field wall, turning on a hanging slider before holding his finish for a moment to admire his work.
Guerrero was tending to some family business, too. Last season, Scherzer struck out Guerrero just over a decade after he first struck out his father for the first time, becoming one of just nine pitchers to strike out both Guerrero's. The grand slam put Scherzer on a shorter list, though, and one he doesn’t want to be on. Eleven years and four days ago, Guerrero Sr. launched a two-run shot off a 25-year-old Scherzer, who now joins Iván Nova as the only two pitchers to be taken deep by both father and son.
Vladdy Jr. wasn’t done, though. Not even against one of baseball’s best.
Two innings later, Scherzer tried to force a 3-2 fastball past Guerrero on the outer half. Guerrero extended his arms and launched a 110.5-mph rocket 436 feet, clearing both the wall and the outfield concourse behind it. Skip ahead another two innings, and Guerrero launched a Kyle Finnegan sinker to the opposite field to complete the hat trick and give him seven RBIs on the night.
The three-homer game is a feat that Guerrero Jr.'s Hall of Fame father never accomplished.
3-HR night for Vlad Jr? Even dad never did it! - MLB.com
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