CLEVELAND — What began as a decisive series encounter between Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Guardians ended in a game marked by tension, hit batsmen, and concern for two of MLB’s great Dominican stars: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and José Ramírez.
You may be interested in:Shohei Ohtani will return to the mound this Saturday against the Royals in his third start of 2025
Both players left Thursday’s game after being hit on the right forearm by errant pitches. In Guerrero Jr.’s case, he was hit by a sinker from Tanner Bibee in the third inning, just a day after being hit by another pitch in the back. Although he tried to stay in the game, he was substituted in the fourth inning by Davis Schneider.
Later, in the lower part of the fourth episode, Ramírez was hit by the first pitch from right-hander
Kevin Gausman, also on the forearm. The star third baseman was replaced in the next inning by
Nolan Jones.
Both players were diagnosed with
bruises and the X-rays yielded
negative results, good news for their teams, considering that both are having All-Star caliber campaigns: Guerrero is batting .282 with 11 home runs and 40 RBIs, while Ramírez has an offensive line of .318, 13 home runs and 38 RBIs.
The tension on the field was also reflected among the leaders, when the Guardians’ manager,
Stephen Vogt, was held back by the home plate umpire as he angrily headed towards the rival dugout after the second hit-by-pitch. Moments like that underscored the heated atmosphere at Progressive Field, where Toronto won 6-0 to take the series.
This game left more questions than answers about the intentionality of the pitches, although for now the priority is the recovery of two figures who are vital to their respective franchises and strong candidates for the
2025 All-Star Game.
