Vladimir Guerrero Jr. left the game after taking a knee to the head in a chaotic sixth-inning collision that briefly kept him in the action but ended with him out of the Blue Jays' 3-1 win over the New York Yankees on Friday at Rogers Centre.
The moment mattered because Guerrero was not knocked out of the play. He stayed long enough to score and tie the game at 1-1 before Toronto removed him, a sequence that turned a messy inning into the biggest health question from the Yankees Vs Blue Jays matchup.
George Lombard Jr. ran into Guerrero as he pursued a throw, with George Springer at the plate and Nathan Lukes on second base and Guerrero on first base when the play began. Ryan McMahon stepped on third to retire Lukes and then threw to first in an attempt to finish a double play, but Luis Garcia Jr. could not handle the sequence cleanly and the ball later went into foul territory. McMahon and Garcia were both charged with errors, and the Blue Jays wound up with two runs from the inning.
That is what makes the removal more than a routine in-game check. Guerrero had just been part of the play that helped Toronto tie the game, then made his way to the dugout and did not return. Manager John Schneider said he had "a little bit of a headache" and called the decision to take him out "kind of precautionary right now," a description that points to caution rather than a clear long-term setback.
For Toronto, the immediate question is simple: whether Guerrero will be ready for the next game. Schneider said, "We'll see how he is tomorrow," which leaves the Blue Jays with a star hitter whose night ended after a head hit, even as the club closed out a win that came from a sixth inning full of traffic, mistakes and one collision that changed the tone of the game.
