Blue Jays use long ball for walkoff victory

TORONTO – Like a golfer admiring a drive, Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. crushed a home run on Tuesday and couldn’t help but hold the pose for an extra second to watch the ball fly over the wall.
Teammate Addison Barger provided some theatre of his own with a no-doubt blast — complete with a bat flip — in the ninth inning that gave Toronto a walkoff victory.
Bo Bichette also flashed some power with a game-tying solo homer before Barger ended it as the Blue Jays topped the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4 for their 22nd comeback win of the season.
“Huge swing from him, huge swing from Bo, both with two strikes,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “I love the way they went about it.”
It was the fifth time in franchise history that Toronto walked off a game with back-to-back homers. Barger also hit the game winner the last time it happened on Aug. 23 against the Los Angeles Angels.
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“I just don’t want to play extras,” Barger said with a laugh. “I don’t think anybody wants to play extras, so that’s all the motivation I really need.”

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Toronto (39-33) ended its three-game losing skid and improved to 23-13 at Rogers Centre.
Jeff Hoffman (6-2) threw an inning of relief for the win. Blue Jays right-hander Chris Bassitt had a quality start, allowing three earned runs and six hits over six frames.
Guerrero set the early tone with an RBI double that scored Barger in the first inning before delivering a majestic blast in the third that travelled 448 feet, a team best on the season.
“If you get the top of the order rolling, I think we’re pretty dangerous,” Schneider said.
The announced crowd of 38,537 roared as Guerrero casually dropped the bat to begin a slow trot around the bases. He was 3-for-4 on the night — his 22nd multi-hit game of the season — and had three RBIs.
Schneider moved Barger up a spot to No. 2 in the lineup between Bichette and Guerrero with Alejandro Kirk in the cleanup position.
The move paid dividends as the top third of the order scored five runs had seven of Toronto’s nine hits.
“I think Vladdy being comfortable in the three hole is real,” Schneider said. “The numbers are what they are and conversations with him are what they are.
“I’m glad it worked out today, but I think you have to have people around him to make it work.”
Diamondbacks reliever Shelby Miller (3-2) shouldered the loss as Arizona (36-36) fell back to the .500 mark. Josh Naylor of Mississauga, Ont., had two hits and a run for the Diamondbacks.
The Blue Jays had four outfielders — Will Robertson, Jonatan Clase, Myles Straw and Alan Roden — play in centre field over the course of the game.
Clase got the start but left the game after the fourth inning when he was hit by a pitch in the right knee area. He was replaced by Straw, who suffered a right ankle sprain in the next frame.
The three-game series continues on Wednesday night.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press


Spirits maker Diageo will cease operations at its bottling facility in Amherstburg, Ont., early next year, as it shifts some bottling volume to the U.S., the company announced on Thursday.
The facility, which bottles Crown Royal products, will close in February in a move aimed at improving its North American supply chain.

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About 200 jobs will be affected.
“This was a difficult decision, but one that is crucial to improving the efficiency and resiliency of our supply chain network,” Marsha McIntosh, Diageo’s president of North America supply, said in a statement.
Diageo said it will engage with the community and find ways to support its employees through the transition, and work alongside Unifor to assist unionized workers.
The company said it will still maintain a “significant” footprint in Canada — including its headquarters and warehouse operations in the Greater Toronto Area, and bottling and distillation facilities in Manitoba and Quebec.
McIntosh added the company’s Crown Royal products will continue to be mashed, distilled and aged at its Canadian facilities.
© 2025 The Canadian Press

Toronto police say a 33-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly striking two men with his car Wednesday evening.
Officers say they responded to reports of a collision in the area of Don Mills Road and Gateway Boulevard in the city’s North York neighbourhood just before 10:30 p.m.

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Police say two men got into an argument, leading to one man getting into his car and hitting the other man with it.
They say the man then put his car into reverse, striking a second man.
A man in his 50s was transported to hospital with serious injuries and the second man, in his 20s, had minor injuries.
Police say the suspect from Markham, Ont., faces several other charges as well, including two counts of assault with a weapon, uttering threats and dangerous driving.
© 2025 The Canadian Press

A court document shows a Lindsay, Ont., man facing charges for allegedly breaking into an apartment was carrying a crossbow when he was confronted by a tenant.
The resident, Jeremy David McDonald, is also facing assault charges in the incident on Aug. 18 — a fact that has generated widespread interest in the case.
Police information filed in court alleges that Michael Kyle Breen damaged a window and screen at McDonald’s home and carried a crossbow.
The court document says the 41-year-old Breen is charged with break and enter, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, mischief under $5,000 and failing to comply with a probation order.

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Police have said that Breen, who is scheduled to appear in court for a bail hearing next week, was already wanted for unrelated offences.
McDonald, the 44-year-old resident, was charged with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon after he allegedly “did endanger the life” of Breen.
Premier Doug Ford blasted the decision to charge the apartment resident, saying last week that it shows “something is broken.”
Kawartha Lakes Police Chief Kirk Robertson wrote in a statement Wednesday that he recognizes the incident has generated significant public interest and “emotional” responses, but called some of the reaction “unjust and inaccurate.”
Robertson wrote that individuals have the right to defend themselves and their property, but the law requires that any defensive action be proportionate to the threat faced.
“This means that while homeowners do have the right to protect themselves and their property, the use of force must be reasonable given the circumstances,” he wrote.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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