AL East Star Suffers Injury Before Series Vs. Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox may not face the Toronto Blue Jays at full strength when beginning a three-game series Friday.

Before traveling to Boston, the Blue Jays earned a 6-0 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday. However, they first endured a injury scare.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. left the game after getting hit by a Tanner Bibee fastball in the third inning. The Blue Jays revealed the first baseman sustained a right forearm contusion, but X-rays came back negative.

He wasn’t the only superstar to take an early exit. The next inning, Kevin Gausman beaned Jose Ramírez in a similar spot. Ramírez left with a bruised right forearm, but his X-rays also returned negative, according to MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins.

By his lofty standards, Guerrero is having a relatively quiet first half. The two-time Silver Slugger is batting .281/.387/.449, a notable dip from last season’s .323/.396/.544 slash line.

Guerrero nevertheless leads all American League first basemen in WAR (2.1). The 26-year-old also surpassed Paul Goldschmidt for a narrow lead in the All-Star voting earlier this week.

Guerrero had just gone yard in Wednesday’s 5-4 loss to Cleveland and was starting to catch fire with three home runs and doubles in each of his last nine games. He hit a game-winning three-run home run to secure a Blue Jays victory over the Red Sox when the division rivals met on May 1.

The upcoming series has significant implications for both teams. As the Blue Jays aim to maintain a narrow wild-card lead while keeping ground behind the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays, the Red Sox will look to snap a five-game losing streak.

The series begins with Boston’s Brayan Bello opposing Toronto’s José Berrios on Friday at 7:10 p.m. ET on NESN.