BOSTON — Before the Toronto Blue Jays' series against the Boston Red Sox, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Guillermo Martinez got together to talk some hitting. Their conversation was simple and direct, led as much by the first baseman as it was by the hitting coach. But the results were immediately apparent on the field Tuesday, as Guerrero Jr. reached base three times in a 2-1 loss at Fenway Park Tuesday.
Even with that offensive adjustment, the Blue Jays managed just one run at Fenway Park and while starter Yusei Kikuchi held his own, Bo Bichette’s second error of the game led to an unearned seventh inning run that made the difference.
After 10 games, Guerrero Jr. had a share of the MLB home run lead and a .711 slugging percentage — elite numbers. But the typically patient 23-year-old got there in an uncharacteristic way.
As Nick Ashbourne recently showed, pitchers have not been throwing Guerrero Jr. strikes so far this season. Eager to contribute, Guerrero Jr. has swung early and often, expanding his own strike zone in an impressive, if risky, fashion.
Few other hitters can turn on 98 m.p.h. off the plate inside and homer the way he did against Gerrit Cole last week. But pitchers gain an advantage they wouldn’t otherwise have when an elite hitter like Guerrero Jr. expands the zone.
“It's definitely not sustainable and he knows that,” Martinez said in an interview with Sportsnet at Fenway Park Tuesday. “Obviously, he would take the homers when he gets it, but it's something that is not part of his nature to be chasing pitches out of the strike zone like that.”
With that idea in mind, Guerrero Jr. and Martinez chatted. The conclusion: lay off pitches outside strike zone, take your walks if needed and make pitchers come to you. When they do, you’ll make them pay.
“It's just looking for a pitch down the middle,” Martinez said. “Trying to keep it as simple as possible … pitchers know, he's the biggest threat in major league baseball. They're not dumb. Pitchers are not dumb. They know who they're facing. And it's just up to Vladdy to calm down a little bit. Just relax.”
Early in the season, that’s been easier said than done at times. There’s pressure to produce again after finishing second in MVP voting a year ago and some bad umpiring has led some Blue Jays hitters to feel pressure to swing at pitches that would typically be called balls.
But eventually, Guerrero Jr. was going to have to get back to what made him such a good hitter in the first place, and on Tuesday he did just that.
The image on the left shows the pitches Guerrero Jr. took Tuesday evening while the image on the right shows the pitches at which he swung. It’s the process the Blue Jays were looking for and the results were good, too, as Guerrero Jr. singled twice and walked before striking out on a borderline call that clearly frustrated him.
Regardless, his conversation with Martinez appeared to make an immediate impact.
"You learn. It's a process and you learn from this," Guerrero Jr. told Sportsnet’s Arash Madani at Fenway Park Tuesday afternoon. "The way they've been pitching me, you can tell they don't want me to hit good pitches. I've been chasing a little bit, but I'm OK."
Making his second start of the season, Kikuchi pitched well enough to hold the Red Sox to one run over five innings. He worked in and out of trouble all night, allowing the leadoff hitter to reach in each of the first four innings, but still limited the damage against a strong offensive team at a hitter's park.
As for the Blue Jays’ defence, there was continued excellence from Matt Chapman at third and an exceptional throw from Bichette from deep short to end the third inning. But the shortstop’s two errors — his first of the season — proved costly.
"Guys are going to make errors," manager Charlie Montoyo said. "When you play teams like this, you can’t give them anything and we did this time. But (Bo) also made some good plays. It’s his first two errors of the season, so I’m not going to put too much on it."
The timing of those mistakes could hardly have been worse for a player who said he felt free and easy defensively upon arriving in Boston. Still, mistakes are inevitable in the course of 162 games and Bichette’s defensive play has improved considerably compared to this time last year.
Plus, if Guerrero Jr. gets back to being more selective at the plate, there should be plenty of days this offence creates a little more breathing room for everyone else.
“We’ve seen some big games from him and we’ll see a lot more,” Bichette said Tuesday afternoon. “But Vladdy to me is the best hitter in the game. I always appreciate his approach every day.”
