By Canadian Press

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. goes deep twice, Blue Jays beat Royals 6-2

Jun 28, 2019 | 8:43 PM

Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. smashed two of his team’s four home runs in a 6-2 victory against the Kansas City Royals on Friday evening.

Gurriel Jr. continued to make a convincing case that he should be Toronto’s representative for the MLB all-star game on July 7 in Cleveland. The rosters will be announced on Sunday.

The Blue Jays fell behind 2-0 before a sparse crowd of 18,399 at Rogers Centre. Gurriel Jr., however, tied the game with a two-run shot to centre field in the sixth inning.

After veteran designated hitter Eric Sogard belted a solo shot in the seventh inning to put Toronto ahead for good, Gurriel Jr. smashed his second of the game with a towering blast to left field.

The 25-year-old Gurriel Jr. now has four homers in two games and has smacked the most in the American League with 14 since May 24 when he promoted from the triple-A Buffalo Bisons.

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Blue Jays right fielder Randal Grichuk hit a two-run shot in the eighth inning.

The four-game Canada Day weekend series pits two of the lowest-run producing teams in the 30-team league. The Royals entered the game in 23rd spot with 346 runs, 10 ahead of the 26th-place Blue Jays.

Blue Jays right-handed pitcher Sean Reid-Foley made his second start of the season. He lasted 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out three Royals.

After Kansas City catcher Martin Maldonado’s home run in the fifth inning, the Royals came back an inning later with another run. Second baseman Nicky Lopez drilled a double down the right-field line and scored on Alex Gordon’s sharp single through the middle of the infield.

Veteran Royals left-handed starter Danny Duffy had held the Blue Jays to three hits through five innings. One of those hits was a single to centre field for Toronto shortstop Freddy Galvis to extend his hit streak to nine games.

A leadoff bloop single to left field in the sixth inning for Toronto rookie Vladimir Guerrero Jr. set the table for Gurriel Jr’s two-run, full-count blast to tie the game.

Gurriel Jr. also continued to exhibit improvement defensively in left field. He made an excellent play Maldonado’s double down the left-field line in the seventh inning to prohibit Royals infielder Cheslor Cuthbert from scoring from first base. Maldonado checked in with three hits, a homer and two doubles.

Toronto reliever Ken Giles secured a Toronto win in the ninth inning. He was set up for success by right-hander Daniel Hudson’s fantastic eighth inning. After surrendering a leadoff double to Gordon, Hudson struck out the next three batters to record the win. 

This was the first outing of a 10-game, 10-day homestand for the Blue Jays, which matches the most extended stay at Rogers Centre this summer for Toronto. There is another 10-gamer in mid-August. This homestand concludes next week with three-game series against both the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles.

Tim Wharnsby, The Canadian Press