The Toronto Blue Jays did not have All-Star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the starting lineup on Wednesday afternoon against the host Houston Astros because of hamstring tightness.
Kazuma Okamoto started at first base and batted second for the Blue Jays after Guerrero looked uncomfortable running out a ground ball Tuesday. He was available off the bench.
“He’s grinding. I think everyone is,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “He’s had some hamstring tightness. It’s a little bit of that to give him a blow, then a little bit of the quick turnaround, just to give him a reset. He’s feeling OK, but he’s been dealing with that and some other things for a while.”
Schneider does not believe a stint on the injured list will be necessary. The Blue Jays visit the Chicago Cubs for a single game on Thursday, then face the host Philadelphia Phillies for a three-game series starting Friday.
“He wants to be out there. He wants to be contributing more than he is,” Schneider said. “I’ll talk to him today as the day goes, then when we get into Chicago.”
Guerrero went 0-for-3 with a walk in a 7-2 road loss to the Houston Astros on Tuesday.
An All-Star for six straight seasons, Guerrero is batting a career-low .259 with six home runs, 44 RBIs, a .338 on-base percentage and .349 slugging percentage.
“I have to start hitting,” Guerrero said before Tuesday’s game. “I think we’ve been playing good. Sometimes, we get shut down, but it’s always one game at a time. I need to get hot so that we can keep going and try to make the playoffs.”
Guerrero is a .286 career hitter with 189 home runs and 635 RBIS in 1,093 regular-season games, all in Toronto.
Last season, he hit .397 (29-for-73) with eight homers and 15 RBIs in 18 playoff games as the Blue Jays advanced to the World Series before losing in seven games to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was named MVP of the American League Championship Series.
