Vlad Jr. has another huge game, hitting .415
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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. continues to make Blue Jays fans clamor for his callup.
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The No. 2 prospect in baseball, Vlad Jr. continued his onslaught on Eastern League pitching Wednesday afternoon, crushing his seventh home run of the season for Double-A New Hampshire in the Fisher Cats' 7-1 win over the Hartford Yard Goats. The home run was one of four hits on the day for the Blue Jays' top prospect, who is now batting .415, a mark that ranks second among all Minor League players.
Just 19 years old, Guerrero is the youngest player in all of Double-A baseball and is five years younger than the average player in the Eastern League. He has a 1.155 on-base plus slugging percentage and 40 RBIs in 35 games for the Fisher Cats. His 40 RBIs rank second in the Minors.
MILB Video - Title: Vlad Jr. goes yard - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=2051851983
Guerrero flashed some leather, too, keeping the Fisher Cats' no-hit bid alive with a defensive gem at the hot corner in the eighth inning, one batter before Hartford's Ryan Metzler ended the no-hitter and shutout with a two-out solo homer.
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New Hampshire starting pitcher Jordan Romano fired six-plus no-hit innings to run his record to 7-0 and drop his ERA to 1.94. The 25-year-old right-hander had thrown only 60 pitches when he was forced to leave the game while working to the first batter in the seventh.
"I just cramped up a little bit there, a little discomfort, so I played it on the safe side and came out," Romano told MiLB.com. "It's definitely frustrating. You want to be out there as long as possible, but that's how it goes sometimes. I'll be ready for my next start."
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Romano, the Jays' 10th-round pick in 2014, has allowed just 21 hits in 46 1/3 innings through eight starts, good for an opponents' average of .138. He struck out five and walked two on Wednesday.
"I felt like I mixed well today," Romano said after his victory. "The main thing, even before the game, me and [Hissey] talked about just attacking hitters, not walking guys or letting them get deep into counts. I just wanted to attack them from pitch one, and that's what I did today."
Cavan Biggio -- son of Astros Hall of Famer Craig Biggio -- continued his breakout season for the Fisher Cats, tripling and belting his 12th homer of the year (tied for fourth-most in the Minors) to raise his season average to .315 and OPS to 1.171. The 23-year-old 2016 fifth-round pick is fourth in all of MiLB in OPS, while Guerrero is fifth.
"Our offense, we got out to an early lead, so whenever you're pitching with a lead like that, it's a lot easier to pitch," Romano said. "Hissey was calling a great game back there. Whatever he put down, I just tried to execute it, and it worked out today."
As good as Romano was Wednesday, he was impressed, as usual, by Guerrero Jr.
"It's just really fun to watch, how he prepares, how he goes out there and plays every day. The numbers speak for themselves. He's an outstanding young player."