Vladdy matching Judge blow for blow in battle of superstar sluggers

NEW YORK -- Through all the turnover on the Blue Jays' roster over the past few weeks, there is still one constant: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. mashing.

Guerrero belted his 22nd home run of the season on Saturday at Yankee Stadium -- a first-inning blast to Monument Park in dead center field -- and finished 3-for-4, a triple shy of the cycle.

Toronto fell to the Yankees, 8-3, but this game was a showcase for two of the hottest hitters in baseball: Guerrero for the Blue Jays, Aaron Judge for New York.

"That's the Vladdy I've seen, year after year," Judge said after the game. "It's impressive to see his approach. He just looks like he's never off balance, never fooled. He's on every single pitch. I had to kind of rub him on the shoulder when I walked in one of those at-bats, like, 'I gotta take a hit away from you, man. You're getting too many of them.'"

Judge hit his 41st home run of the season for New York on Saturday … prompting Toronto to intentionally walk him with the bases empty in the second inning. But Guerrero is the Blue Jays' Judge.

Vlad Jr.'s Ruthian hack off Carlos Rodón extended his hitting streak to an MLB-high 16 games. Over those 16 games, Guerrero is batting .525 and slugging 1.136. He has nine home runs.

"I think he's pretty darned close [to a Judge-level impact] right now," Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. "I think teams are definitely taking notice of that, and I think Vladdy has responded in a good way to counteract that with his approach."

This weekend's Guerrero-Judge showdown in the Bronx, superstar slugger vs. superstar slugger, is certainly living up to its billing.

"[Judge is] amazing. He's like Vladdy for us right now," said Blue Jays starter José Berríos, who was on the mound when Toronto issued the intentional walk to Judge. "They are so hot. They're so locked in at the plate. It's fun to watch those types of hitters."

Berríos said he understood the intentional walk. He said Judge is the hottest hitter in the big leagues. But he made sure to add one caveat: "Him and Vladdy."

"It was a good day to watch both play today," Berríos said.

Guerrero sees how teams -- including his own -- treat Judge. Really, he deserves some respect of his own right now. But Vlad Jr. doesn't envy Judge his free passes.

"Of course, intentionally walking him is the respect that he earned. He's super hot right now, and he earns that," Guerrero said, via Blue Jays interpreter Hector LeBron. "In my case, I don't want that. I want to hit. I don't want intentional walks."

This is one of the great stretches of Guerrero's career, even going back to his 48-homer, MVP-runner-up season in 2021. He has more than rebounded from his slow start to ‘24 and has now been one of the best hitters in the Majors for months.

Since April 15, when he was hitting below the Mendoza Line (after a game against the Yankees, it just so happens), Guerrero is batting .341 with a .571 slugging percentage and a .974 OPS.

"To be honest with you, I try not to think about what happened a couple of years ago," Guerrero said. "Obviously it was good. But all I can tell you is that I feel a lot better than three months ago."

And Guerrero has only gotten hotter throughout the summer. Since the start of July, Guerrero's batting .382 with a .755 slugging percentage and a 1.191 OPS, which is even better than Judge's 1.185 over that same time.

Then you add a series against the Yankees into the mix … Vlad Jr. always rakes at Yankee Stadium.

In the first two games of this series, Guerrero is 5-for-7 with one home run, two doubles, two RBIs and three runs scored. In 41 career games at Yankee Stadium, he has 14 home runs. That's the second most by any active visiting player, behind only Rafael Devers' 16. And Devers has played 57 games in New York.

Before Saturday's game, Schneider sat in his office and held up his scouting report of the Yankees’ hitters. He talked about what New York manager Aaron Boone must think when he looks at Guerrero on his own sheet.

"We sit here and do all this [scouting], and Booney's doing the same thing over there," Schneider said. "And you circle Vlad's name no matter who's hitting behind him. Because he's that talented."

Guerrero is the last man standing in the heart of a Toronto order that lost Justin Turner in a deal with the Mariners just before the Trade Deadline and is still missing Bo Bichette. In the thick of this hot stretch, his approach has been tested. Guerrero has had to learn how to hit with an amorphous cast of new hitters surrounding him. He has done so in stride.

"He's at that point where he gets who he is," Schneider said. "Which is, I think, the last piece of a great player becoming a great player."