Vladimir Guerrero Jr. powers Blue Jays to 11-0 win over Guardians

The Toronto Blue Jays responded emphatically in Cleveland. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove in a season-high five runs, Dylan Cease delivered six scoreless innings and Toronto defeated the Cleveland Guardians 11-0 on Wednesday night to even the series at one game apiece.

Beyond the lopsided score, the victory carried added significance in the American League wild-card race. Cleveland remains in possession of the third wild-card spot, but its advantage over Toronto, Baltimore and Texas is now down to 1.5 games.

The Blue Jays have won four of their last five and are 21-13 since July 27 as they continue to close the gap in September.

Guerrero sets the tone with five-RBI night

Toronto wasted little time building a comfortable advantage.

Guerrero delivered the biggest blow in the second inning, launching a three-run home run against Cleveland starter Joey Cantillo to complete a five-run frame and push the Blue Jays ahead 6-0.

The Toronto first baseman finished 3-for-4 with five RBI, his highest total in a game this season. Brett Bateman was repeatedly in position to benefit from Guerrero’s production, scoring three times on his three hits.

Interestingly, all eight of Guerrero’s home runs this season have come away from home.

The Blue Jays continued adding to their advantage as the night progressed, eventually handing Cantillo the most difficult outing of his season. The Cleveland left-hander was charged with a career-high nine runs over 5 1/3 innings, although five were unearned following an error by shortstop Angel Genao.

Josh Smith later added a solo home run in the eighth inning as Toronto reached 11 runs.

Cease shuts down Cleveland

With the offence providing plenty of support, Cease made sure Cleveland never found a way back into the game. The right-hander scattered four hits across six scoreless innings, striking out four without issuing a walk. No Guardians runner advanced beyond second base during his outing.

Cease improved to 10-5 and extended an impressive stretch that dates back to his last loss on July 20. He is 4-0 with a 1.38 ERA across his last eight starts.

One notable streak did end Wednesday. Cease had recorded at least seven strikeouts in 19 consecutive starts, but his four strikeouts against Cleveland left him one game short of matching the single-season MLB record shared by Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson.

The lack of strikeouts hardly mattered on this occasion. Cease consistently kept Cleveland from creating meaningful scoring opportunities before handing a sizable lead to the bullpen.

Paul Sewald, Brendon Little and Braydon Fisher covered the final three innings to complete a six-hit shutout. José Soriano is scheduled to start Thursday’s series finale for the Blue Jays. Cleveland is set to counter with Tanner Bibee.