TORONTO -- Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s homer was loud enough to wake up himself and the neighbors.

Guerrero injected some much-needed energy into the Blue Jays’ lineup with a seventh-inning solo blast to the opposite field that broke open a 4-0 win over the Padres on Thursday afternoon at Rogers Centre.

For most of this one, it looked like Toronto’s bats would remain dormant after scoring just one run in the first two games of the series. But as Vlad got going, so did his teammates.

“There have been a lot of ups and downs,” Guerrero said in Spanish. “But we’re the type of people who compete every game. And I think that when you execute your plan, you talk about it before the game and you make the right adjustments, things will turn out well.”

Guerrero excelled at following the plan. After working two walks against San Diego starter Blake Snell, the Blue Jays slugger clobbered a 98 mph sinker from reliever Luis García in the seventh, sending it a Statcast-projected 370 feet with an exit velocity of 104.5 mph.

It was a classic Vladdy blast, too, soaring in a straight line to the visitors’ bullpen in right field. Guerrero’s 15th home run of the season extended the Blue Jays’ lead to 2-0, and it opened the door for an even bigger inning.

Alejandro Kirk, who has dealt with an uncharacteristic power outage this year, stepped up to put the game out of reach in the eighth, hitting a two-run homer off lefty Tom Cosgrove for his fourth of the season. Individually, it was an encouraging step forward. Collectively, it was a glimpse into the untapped potential that still exists within this offense.

“It’s a credit to him for continuing to grind and continuing to work,” said manager John Schneider. “I know we spoke a couple of days ago about the work he has been doing kind of behind the scenes, but, man, if you get Kirky back to being that kind of dangerous threat, on-base damage, it's going to be huge for our lineup.”

The Blue Jays have preached patience with Kirk all season, since he navigated an abbreviated Spring Training due to the birth of his daughter. A strong defender and trusted game caller, Kirk was then asked to handle the bulk of catching duties when Danny Jansen landed on the injured list. Kirk then endured an IL stint of his own with a left hand laceration.

It was Kirk's first homer since June 5. Just as Guerrero’s blast came in classic fashion, so did Kirk’s.

The 24-year-old had already worked a pair of singles and a walk by the time the eighth inning rolled around. After falling behind 0-2 in the count, Kirk got all of Cosgrove’s hanging slider, lifting the sellout home crowd to its feet and reminding everyone of what he can provide when he’s at his best.

How Kirk was able to conquer his power drought goes back to Guerrero’s original point.

“We came up with a plan and we executed the plan,” Guerrero said. “We looked for our pitches, we made adjustments and thank God we succeeded.”

It sounds simple enough, but maintaining a level head as the soft contact piles on is a real challenge -- especially in close games like Thursday’s and after a pair of quiet nights for the offense.

More than a breakthrough, though, that bounce-back effort also brought some justice to the Blue Jays’ staff, led by Chris Bassitt’s six scoreless innings in the finale.

Pitching with a one-run lead from the third inning onward, the right-hander struck out five Padres batters on four hits, one walk and a hit batter. This wasn’t Bassitt's cleanest outing, but it kept the home team in it long enough for Guerrero to wake up the bats. It was a refreshing change in narrative after the Blue Jays failed to support José Berríos’ six strong frames the night before.

“It feels great [to come through for the pitchers],” said Guerrero. “ … We trust all of those guys, and we know that if we’re winning by one or by two runs, they will come in and they will do their job.”

Thursday’s win wrapped up a 4-2 homestand for the Blue Jays, who now head for the West Coast for testing sets against the Mariners and Dodgers. After finally waking up, this lineup will have no room for jet lag.