Guerrero homers to match Blue Jays career playoff record

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Vlad Guerrero Jr.'s march to playoff history continued Sunday night at Rogers Center with another home run, his sixth all-time. A Game-Changing October for Blue Jays Stars.

The single in Game 5 was his sixth of the playoffs, matching the Blue Jays career homers record, a record he now shares with greats Jose Bautista and Joe Carter. And it helped the Jays to a decisive 6-2 victory over the Mariners.

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It's also fitting that Bautista was at the sold-out Rogers Center to celebrate his 45th birthday. big game for the Jays and threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

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Earlier in the playoffs Guerrero set the Jays' home run record The most in a single playoff is five. Bautista's total is even more remarkable given that Guerrero had yet to score a single goal before the playoffs.

“That’s Vladimir, that’s who he is,” Jays veteran George Springer said afterward. “He's done it a lot throughout his career. He's done it all year. You just expect him to do something very similar to Wladimir. He's been incredible in the last 10 or 11 games and it's been amazing to watch.”

In a broader context, Guerrero became the 14th player in MLB history to hit six homers in his first 10 postseason games.

Guerrero now has three hits against the Mariners after scoring three against the Yankees in their best-of-five ALDS. With nine extra-base hits, he trails only Paul Molitor for the most hits in a single postseason (10 in 1992). Devon White also had nine hits in 1993, the last time the Jays won the World Series.

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But now it's Guerrero's turn. And getting Vlad in the postseason is something the franchise dreamed of long before they signed him to a $500 million US contract at the start of the season.

“I think what he's done this year from a performance standpoint has been about what we expected from Vlad,” manager John Schneider said after Sunday's big win over the Mariners. “You know, what he did behind the scenes and how he handled being the face of the franchise is pretty unique for a 26-year-old guy.

“So to be around us – I've been spoiled to be around him as long as I have. So to watch him do what he's doing right now and six homers in the postseason, he's playing great defense, he's running the bases well, it's kind of what you look for in one of the elite players in the game.”

And at just the right time.

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