Vlad Jr.'s playoff breakout fuels Jays' offensive explosion in Game 1 rout - ESPN

TORONTO — Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s playoff career before Saturday was not befitting a $500 million franchise cornerstone. The Toronto Blue Jays first baseman managed just three hits in 25 plate appearances and didn't hit a ball over the fence across six games. More important, the six games, split into two-game slices over three postseasons, were all Blue Jays losses.

That all flipped in a 10-1 win over the Yankees, the franchise he has long openly despised, in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday.

Starring in front of a raucous Rogers Centre crowd hungry for playoff baseball, Guerrero delivered an all-around clinic in the Blue Jays' first playoff win since Game 4 of the 2016 AL Championship Series with a diving catch and three hits to fuel an offensive explosion.

«He's the face of our franchise and a big reason why we go, a big part of why we're here,» Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman said. «So it's been nice to see him have the night that he had.»

At the plate, Guerrero swatted his first career postseason home run and finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored to fuel an offense that pounded 14 hits, including three home runs and three doubles. Defensively, his diving catch of Ryan McMahon's lineout at first base — while a bat shard whizzed by him — initiated an inning-ending double play in the second.

Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk complemented Guerrero's effort with his first two career postseason home runs. Right fielder Nathan Lukes contributed two hits, including a two-run double, with three RBIs and a diving catch down the right-field line. Shortstop Andres Gimenez went 2-for-4 as the Blue Jays chased Luis Gil after 2⅔ innings and forced the Yankees to use six pitchers.

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