Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of Montreal, Quebec became the fifth Canadian native Major League Baseball player all-time to hit three home runs in a game on Tuesday according to Baseball Almanac. Guerrero Jr. accomplished the feat in a 9-5 Blue Jays win over the Washington Nationals.
Guerrero Jr. had three home runs in four at bats, along with seven runs batted in. His first home run was a grand slam off of three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer in the third inning. Guerrero Jr. also had a fifth-inning solo home run, and a seventh inning two-run home run.
The other four Canadians to hit three home runs in a game were Larry Walker of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Justin Morneau of New Westminster, British Columbia, Joey Votto of Toronto, Ontario, and Michael Saunders of Victoria, British Columbia. Walker hit three home runs in a game thrice with the Colorado Rockies. He accomplished the feat in a 15-3 Rockies win over the Montreal Expos on April 5, 1997, in a 9-7 Rockies win over the St. Louis Cardinals on April 28, 1999, and in a 10-8 Rockies win over the Cleveland Indians on June 25, 2004. Morneau hit three home runs in a game in a 12-0 Minnesota Twins win over the Chicago White Sox on July 6, 2007. Votto hit three home runs in a game in a 9-0 Cincinnati Reds win over the Chicago Cubs on May 7, 2008. Saunders hit three home runs in a game in a 13-3 Toronto Blue Jays win over the Baltimore Orioles on June 17, 2016.
Guerrero Jr. also becomes the third player this season to hit three home runs in a game. J.D. Martinez had three home runs for the Boston Red Sox in their 14-9 win over the Orioles on April 11, and Ryan McMahon hit three homers for the Rockies in a 10-8 Colorado loss to Arizona on April 6.
With the three home runs, Guerrero now has seven home runs this season. He is batting .360 in his first 22 games. The Blue Jays meanwhile, are at the .500 mark at 11 wins and 11 losses. They are second in the American League East, and three games back of the Boston Red Sox.
