TORONTO — Alejandro Kirk drove in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with the winning run to give the Toronto Blue Jays a 2-1 walkoff victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday at Rogers Centre.
With former Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano (0-2) on the mound, Guerrero hit a one-out single and stole second. After Addison Barger struck out, Kirk drove a ball off the top of the wall in right-centre field that allowed Guerrero to trot home.
The Blue Jays (32-29) have won six of their last seven games and eight of their last nine at home.
The Phillies (37-24) have dropped five of their last six games.
Toronto starter Jose Berrios gave up a solo shot to Nick Castellanos in the second inning. It was his sixth home run of the season.
Philadelphia right-hander Mick Abel, making his first big-league road start, retired the first eight Blue Jays in order until Andres Gimenez stroked a single in the third inning.
The 15th overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft threw six shutout innings and had nine strikeouts in his debut last month.
Berrios, meanwhile, battled some control issues in the fifth, loading the bases with two walks and a single. Bryson Stott worked a full count before popping up and Trea Turner flew out to end the threat.
Gimenez singled again in the sixth and scored on a one-out triple by Bo Bichette. Abel was replaced by Orion Kerkering, who got Guerrero on a shallow fly and Barger on a strikeout.
Berrios allowed four hits, one earned run and had five strikeouts over six innings.
Chad Green, Brendon Little and Jeff Hoffman threw in relief for Toronto. Hoffman (5-2) recorded one out for the victory.
Philadelphia catcher J.T. Realmuto left the game in the ninth inning after he was hit by a foul ball in the groin area.
Announced attendance was 25,716 and the game took two hours 25 minutes to play.
VLAD STREAK
Guerrero singled in the ninth inning to extend his career-high on-base streak to 34 games.
It’s the longest active streak in the major leagues.
COMING UP
The finale of the three-game series will be played Thursday afternoon.
Right-hander Chris Bassitt (5-3, 3.80) was scheduled to start for the Blue Jays against left-hander Jesus Luzardo (5-1, 3.58).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 4, 2025.
Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press
