Vladdy Heating Up? Guerrero Jr. Tallies Two Hits in Dodgers Finale as Offensive Rhythm Returns .v1

TORONTO — For the first week of April, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. looked like a man trying to carry the weight of a 50-year-old franchise on his shoulders. With his longtime partner-in-crime Bo Bichette now wearing Mets blue and the pitching staff crumbling around him, “Vladdy” seemed to be pressing at the plate. But on Wednesday afternoon, the swing looked different. It looked easy.

Guerrero Jr. tallied two hits in the 4-3 win over the Dodgers, including a sharp double that served as the primary catalyst for Toronto’s seventh-inning rally. Perhaps more impressively, he added a walk, showing a disciplined approach that had been missing during the team’s six-game slide. After smashing a 437-foot moonshot earlier in the week in Chicago, the question is no longer about his power, but about his rhythm.

“When Vladdy is right, the whole dugout stands a little taller,” said teammate George Springer. “We saw that today. He wasn’t trying to hit a five-run home run; he was just taking what they gave him. When he does that, he’s the best hitter in the world.”

The chemistry between Guerrero and new addition Kazuma Okamoto is also beginning to flourish. Okamoto, the Japanese star signed to a $60 million deal, has been a constant presence next to Vladdy in the dugout, and their budding “bromance” is providing some much-needed levity in a high-pressure clubhouse.

For the Blue Jays to survive the “April Anxiety” of five starters on the IL, they need Guerrero Jr. to be more than just a power hitter; they need him to be the offensive anchor. Wednesday’s two-hit performance suggests that the timing is returning. As the face of the franchise, Vladdy knows the burden is his to bear. If he is truly heating up, the rest of the American League East should take notice: a healthy, rhythmic Vladdy is a fire that even a decimated pitching staff can’t extinguish.