Rivalry builds as Guerrero Jr. stings Yankees with words then bat in Blue Jays win

NEW YORK — As visitors' batting practice wrapped up on a cool Friday evening at Yankee Stadium, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. sat in the visiting dugout and fielded questions.

Speaking through an interpreter, he expressed confidence in his plate approach and acknowledged he’s looking forward to facing Gerrit Cole on Saturday (more on that later). But his most memorable answer came in response to a question about something he said last winter.

Asked last off-season about the Yankees, Guerrero Jr. told interviewer Dotol Nastra that he would never sign with MLB’s winningest franchise. “Ni muerto,” he added — “not even dead.” So as the Blue Jays arrived in New York for the first time this year, Guerrero Jr. was asked if those comments still reflected his state of mind.

“It’s a personal thing,” he said calmly via translator Hector Lebron. “It goes back with my family. That’s my decision and I will never change that.”

A little more than an hour later, Guerrero Jr. stepped in for his first at-bat of the night, and sent a Domingo German pitch 417 feet to left field for a two-run homer. Not only was it a well-timed swing on Guerrero Jr.'s part, it set in motion a 6-1 Blue Jays win behind a breakout game from Brandon Belt and another strong start from Yusei Kikuchi.

Whether or not the Yankees saw Guerrero Jr.’s comments, they certainly saw the home run. So when Greg Weissert hit the first baseman in the elbow in the ninth inning, Guerrero Jr. stared the rookie reliever down. But afterwards, manager John Schneider downplayed the plunking, pointing to the movement on Weissert’s pitches.

“These are two good teams, two teams that respect each other,” Schneider said.

Now, the Yankees have two villains to choose from whenever the Blue Jays visit: the power-hitting first baseman who says he’d never willingly wear Yankee pinstripes or the 25-year-old Cy Young finalist who called Gerrit Cole the worst cheater in baseball (perhaps surprisingly, it’s former Astro George Springer who gets the worst boos from New York’s fans).

But on Friday it was Guerrero Jr. who set the tone with his words and with his bat. Entering the game, he led baseball with 36 balls hit 95 m.p.h. or harder, yet had somehow connected for just four extra-base hits: three home runs and a lone double.

As manager John Schneider said: “Weird.”

Weird indeed, but continued hard contact allowed Guerrero Jr. to hit a ball where no Yankee could catch it Friday. Before the game, the 24-year-old made it clear that he wasn’t about to waver from his selective approach.

“I think I'm hitting good right now,” he said. “I'm making the right decisions. For some reason, I'm probably not hitting the ball the way I want to, but I will continue to go about the same plan, same routine, and will just continue to be me. Hopefully the ball starts going out again.”

But where home runs are the norm for Guerrero Jr., it had been a while for the other power-hitting first baseman on Toronto’s roster. After signing a one-year, $9.3 million deal, Belt started slowly, but the Blue Jays continued finding regular playing time for him and on Friday he rewarded their patience with his first home run since last July — a two-run shot off German.

"I just feel like I'm able to contribute now," Belt said. "And it's exciting. I think anybody who's playing on a new team or just in general wants to feel like they're helping contribute to the team's success and helping the team win ball games. So it's nice to see."

Later, Belt would drive in two more with a double that eluded Aaron Judge at the right field wall.

Meanwhile, Kikuchi was quietly effective, limiting the Yankees to just one run on four hits over six innings. It might not have been as dominant as his previous outing against the Rays, but he’s now allowed only one run in three of his four starts and the Blue Jays are undefeated when he pitches.

“It's my fifth year (in MLB),” Kikuchi said through interpreter Yusuke Oshima. “But, it's probably since my very first year that I've been able to feel this good.”

All things considered that’s excellent production from the fifth starter’s spot and a significant improvement from a year ago. Even last month, Kikuchi wasn’t assured of a rotation spot, but he’s since become essential to the Blue Jays' chances.

But as entertaining as Friday’s game was, Saturday promises to offer just as much intrigue. Last summer, when the Blue Jays and Yankees exchanged words, Manoah said “if Gerrit wants to do something, he can walk past (Yankee Stadium’s painted, on-field) Audi sign next time.” A few months later during baseball’s off-season, NBA player Serge Ibaka asked Manoah to identify MLB’s biggest cheater.

"Gerrit Cole," Manoah responded. "He used a lot of sticky stuff to make his pitches better, and he kind of got called out on it."

Now, Cole and Manoah are lined up to pitch on the same day.

“Some of the things that Alek has said between the Audi sign and other things, it's Alek being him,” Schneider said. “Comments in the off-season were in a weird environment that he probably wishes he didn't say but I think you know more so it's just us versus them. Division opponent. It shouldn't be singularly focused on Alek and Gerrit."

On that last point, Manoah’s in complete agreement. Facing the Yankees, facing Cole — it matters, but it’s about as significant as a game against any top division rival. But about the other part — does Manoah wish he could take back any of the things he’s said?

“No,” he said. “Not at all.”