The Toronto Blue Jays lineup stalwart has seen a major regression this season in the slugging department.
The Toronto Blue Jays dropped the first game of a three-game series on Tuesday night against the Kansas City Royals, losing 5-3 at Rogers Centre.
With the loss, the Jays are now 64-69 on the season. They are back into last place in the American League East.
It was the appropriate ending to a disappointing day for Toronto, who placed right-hander Shane Bieber on the injured list with a right shoulder issue. It's a critical blow for a Jays team that is using a rotation held together by duct tape at this point in the season.
Kevin Gausman was traded at midseason, while Jose Berrios and Bowden Francis haven't pitched all season because of injury. Trey Yesavage is currently on the injured list and Cody Ponce made one start before getting injured and lost for the season.
About this game
Veteran right-hander Max Scherzer took the loss on Tuesday, going five innings while giving up two earned runs on four hits. He walked five and struck out four in falling to 1-7.
Braydon Fisher gave up two unearned runs in relief of him.
Offensively, Toronto scored a run in the bottom of the first inning but did not score again until the bottom of the ninth. The group had 10 total hits, but wasn't able to put things together enough. Nathan Lukes was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double to end the game.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went 1-for-4 with a single at the plate. He has still yet to hit a home run at Rogers Centre this year, an unfathomable feat for one of the best sluggers in the entire sport.
As noted by StatsCentre, Guerrero now has as .647 OPS at home this season. That is tied for the second-worst in baseball among all players who have 250+ plate appearances at home. Only JJ Wetherholt's (St. Louis Cardinals) .642 is worse.
He hasn't homered at home in more than a calendar year at this point. In total, Guerrero is hitting .262 with just seven home runs. He has only a .335 on-base percentage and just 46 RBIs.
Up next
The Blue Jays and Royals will be back in action on Wednesday night at 7:07 p.m. ET.
The Royals will send veteran right-hander Randy Dobnak to the mound, who was picked up from the Seattle Mariners earlier this year. He's 2-1 with a 1.58 ERA.
The Jays will throw Rule-5 pick Spencer Miles, as he will be taking the place of Bieber. He's 5-2 with a 3.02 ERA.
