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TORONTO, CANADA - JUNE 12: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. #27 of the Toronto Blue Jays removes his batting gloves after striking out in the eighth inning of an MLB game against the New York Yankees at the Rogers Centre on June 12, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tara Walton/Getty Images)
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., a five-time All-Star and noted Yankee-killer, is out of the lineup for Saturday’s game in Toronto with lower back tightness.
In his place, Charles McAdoo will play first base and bat eighth.
Guerrero went 1-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored during Friday’s series-opening 8-5 win over New York.
Guerrero has played in 68 of the Blue Jays’ first 70 games, and is slashing .280/.372/.366.
One of baseball’s most feared sluggers, Guerrero has gotten off to a slow start in the power department. He has only three home runs, and his .366 slugging percentage is well below his career average of .487. Despite that, he continues to reach base at a healthy clip, as his .372 on-base percentage is a tad north of his career .366 rate.
The 27-year-old has notoriously crushed the Yankees. In 107 games against Toronto’s AL East rival, Guerrero is hitting .300 with 22 homers, 77 RBI and 51 runs scored.
Saturday, the Blue Jays will face Yankees ace Cam Schlittler (7-3, 1.87 ERA) for the second time this season. Toronto will counter with Kevin Gausman (4-4, 3.60 ERA). Schlittler allowed two runs over six innings while striking out seven in a 2-1 Toronto win on May 20.
The Blue Jays have yet to pick up where they left off at the end of last season, when they reached the World Series. At 34-36, they sit eight games behind both the Yankees and Rays in the AL East.
Toronto entered Saturday ranked 21st in the majors in runs scored (289) and 22nd in both home runs (67) and OPS (.702).
Japanese star third baseman Kazuma Okamoto, who signed a four-year, $60 million deal in December, surprisingly leads the club with 14 homers and 40 RBI.
The Blue Jays are 3-2 against the Yankees this season.
Douglas Bonjour is a breaking news contributor covering the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and WNBA for Heavy. He is also a contributing writer for The Associated Press and has worked for Point Spreads, the Connecticut Post and Hearst Connecticut Media as a reporter and editor. More about Douglas Bonjour
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