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The 404-foot homer gave the Blue Jays a 4-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox at the Rogers Centre. It was the second consecutive come-from-behind win by the Jays, who were coming off a 1-8 skid earlier in the week.

“You have to take your shot with him or (Anthony Santander),” Jays manager John Schneider said of Boston’s decision to pitch to Guerrero with a base open. “I think it may have been easier two weeks ago. Having (Daulton) Varsho right there too makes that decision a little bit tougher. That’s how you envision where you have a good little one-two punch there.”

Fastballs

Vladdy’s victory

There have been far too many games this season when the Jays bats have failed to do much of anything, and Thursday initially looked like more of the same. The Jays managed just three hits and were held scoreless through the first six innings by right-hander Tanner Houck, who entered with a 7.58 ERA. The Jays cut the lead to one in the seventh on a solo homer by Varsho, and then it was Guerrero’s turn in the eighth. His blast came one at-bat after Red Sox right-fielder Wilyer Abreu botched a fly ball to deep left field and allowed it to fall for a double. That put runners on second and third for Guerrero, who responded by delivering the knockout blow.

“It was a big at-bat for me, for the team,” Guerrero said through an interpreter. “I talked to myself and said I have to compete here. I have to look for the pitch. He gave me something that stayed in the zone that I was looking for and I was able to connect.”

The daily double

José Berríos stranded a runner in scoring position during the first and second innings, but he wasn’t as fortunate in the fifth. Boston’s Rob Refsnyder and David Hamilton opened the inning with back-to-back singles, which put runners on the corners with nobody out. Hamilton then stole second base before Carlos Nárvaez popped up and Jarren Duran struck out. That gave Berríos the opportunity to escape another jam, but he proceeded to walk Rafael Devers before Alex Bregman hit a two-run double to left. Berríos pitched into the seventh and allowed just those two runs on seven hits and a walk, while striking out five. Berríos has surrendered three runs or fewer in five of his seven starts this season, but only has one win to show for it.

“It’s great for us, it’s great for the hitters,” Berríos said after the comeback victory. “It gives us a lot of confidence and happiness. There’s nothing better than a win and we won the series. We came from behind both games and that says a lot about what we can do out there.”

Daulton’s dinger

Varsho hasn’t taken long to make his presence felt this season. The gold glove winner, who just returned from a torn rotator cuff on Tuesday, made one of his trademark grabs in the first inning, when he crashed into the wall to rob Abreu of a double while stranding a runner at second base in the process. In the seventh, Varsho made an impact with his bat. He unloaded on a 1-and-1 sinker from Houck and sent it over the wall in left for an opposite-field homer. It was his second home run in as many games, which puts him just two back of the team lead even though he has played in just one series.