NEW YORK — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was a late scratch from the Toronto Blue Jays‘ lineup Wednesday night against the New York Yankees because of right knee discomfort.
The slugger had been slated to bat third as the designated hitter for the Blue Jays, who are locked in a tight playoff race.
About two hours before Wednesday night’s game, Toronto manager John Schneider said Guerrero’s sore right knee has been “barking” for a couple of days and he’s been “grinding” through it, but there’s nothing structurally wrong.
Approximately 40 minutes before the scheduled first pitch, however, the Blue Jays announced Guerrero had been pulled from the starting lineup.
Guerrero went 0-for-5 on Tuesday night in a 7-1 victory at Yankee Stadium and was lifted for a pinch-runner in the ninth inning after reaching on an error.
A three-time All-Star, Guerrero was hitting .264 with 24 homers, 90 RBI and a .781 OPS in 147 games this season. Back in July, he became the first Toronto player to win the Home Run Derby during All-Star festivities in Seattle — making him and his dad the first father-son duo to both win the event.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.