Two base-running gaffes by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. prove costly in loss

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It has been said that all good things must come to an end.

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No one expected the Blue Jays to continue their scorching hot streak forever, one that saw the team win 10 games in a row to move one victory away from matching the franchise record.

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Hits in big moments by virtually every player in the lineup, different ways manufactured to produce wins, strong pitching and base-running base-running, they all combined to vault the Jays into first place in the AL East.

That all vanished on Wednesday in Chicago and with it went the win streak as the host White Sox handed the Jays a 2-1 loss.

The following are three takeaways from an afternoon at Rate Field in which the Jays hit and ran into three doubler plays:

1. Costly blunder

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s $500-million extension doesn’t kick in until next season, but it doesn’t make the Jays slugger immune from criticism.

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Entered the series finale on Wednesday one hit away from joining the Jays’ 1,000-hit club, a nine-player list led by Tony Fernandez. He’s still one hit away after going 0-for-4, grounding out each time. On three occasions, he had a runner in scoring position.

Batting futility aside — it happens to the best of them — it was a couple of base-running blunders that cost the Jays one run, for sure, and perhaps more.

In the third inning, Guerrero reached on a fielder’s choice. When Chicago starter Adrian Houser misfired on a pickoff attempt, Vladdy scampered to second, only to get easily tagged out trying — foolishly, it must be stated — trying to get to third base on the same sequence, for the final out of the inning.

Then in the sixth, trailing 2-1 with one out, Nathan Lukes at third and Guerrero at first, Addison Barger hit a sharp grounder to the bag at first. With Vladdy off and running, Chisox first baseman Tim Elko scooped the hot shot, stepped on first and threw to second complete the inning-ending double play.

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A visibly frustrated Guerrero knew that, with the force play nullified when Elko stepped on first, he should have forced a rundown, which would have allowed Lukes to score from third base and tie the game.

2. Lauer labors

From bulk reliever to serving in the piggy-back role in the rotation, Eric Lauer has emerged as a feel-good story, one of the team’s many surprise developments.

Wednesday’s start was his sixth and it followed his longest outing of the season when the left-hander went 6.0 innings last Friday.

On Wednesday, he lasted four innings and 68 pitches, allowing the two runs — both in his final inning — while striking out seven.

No official word was available, but it did appear Lauer was dealing with some kind of physical discomfort to a finger.

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Meanwhile, reliever Ryan Burr, who started the seventh inning, also left with an apparent injury with two outs and a full count on Mike Tauchman. Yariel Rodriguez came in and threw one pitch to retire Tauchman and the side.

Burr had just been activated off the 60-day injured list because of right shoulder inflammation.

3. Anatomy of a streak

Good pitching, the baseball adage goes, will beat good hitting. The White Sox got just that on Wednesday.

Houser, the veteran right-hander, went seven strong innings, allowing the one run — on Tyler Heineman’s RBI bunt single in the second — seven hits and two walks.

And he accomplished that clearly feeling under the weather. Once the final out was recorded in the first inning, the 32-year-old could be seen vomiting in the dugout.

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Houser, who previously faced the Jays on June 22 at the Rogers Centre, threw a combined 13.1 innings in those two starts, yielding a total of three runs.

Somehow, on a team with a 31-62 record, he is 5-2 with a tidy 1.56 ERA in nine starts.

Up next

Following Thursday’s off-day after playing 16 games in 16 days, the Jays begin their final series before the all-star break with a three-game set in Sacramento, the temporary home of the Athletics … Fittingly, Max Scherzer gets the start for the 10:05 p.m. game at Sutter Health Park because the health of his thumb is the major issue surrounding the veteran right-hander. An extra day between starts should help.

fzicarelli@postmedia.com

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