Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is once again looking like the spectacular hitter who terrorized the Major League Baseball gunners last season. On Thursday night, he mocked none other than Shohei Ohtani, slamming a home run in a second straight game for the first time this season.
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Guerrero Jr. sent an offering from the versatile Japanese into the stands in the sixth inning, cementing the lead for the Toronto Blue Jays, who eventually won 6-3 against the Los Angeles Angels.
“For me, everything is mental, conceded the first baseman, whose remarks were taken up by the Sportsnet network after the meeting. Sometimes I go to the plate thinking I have to hit everything.
“When you start thinking like that, you have to say to yourself, ‘No, I’m going to wait for the throw that I want. And that’s when it all starts to work.”
Pitch selection is also an aspect of the game that the first baseman has had to focus on this season. In fact, he incorporated a video session into his pre-game routine where he studies his batting decisions from recent meetings with coaches to establish a “plan for the game”.
“It helped me a lot, especially in the strike zone, he continued through an interpreter. I hope I will continue this momentum.”
The Ohtani riddle solved
The Jays faced a tough challenge against the Angels and Ohtani, as the latter had allowed more than two runs only once in seven starts this season. Not only did they cross home plate five times while the All-American MVP of 2021 occupied the mound, but they also had six hits on it.
We shouldn’t expect Guerrero to reveal the recipe for demystifying the enigmatic Angels player, however.
“I’m not going to tell you what’s the key to beating him, because we won’t be able to do that anymore,” he joked. I want to reserve this pleasure for myself.”
Ohtani’s first executioner was George Springer. His first-inning home run kicked off the game in the best way for Team Canada, which is looking more and more like the offensive machine it once was.
“It’s a process and it’s not going to happen overnight,” Springer said. It’s going to take a few games like this for us to feel good, but it’s a good start.”
The Jays and Angels will meet again in Los Angeles on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
