For the first time in his brief big league career, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is hitting the road. The Blue Jays and their wunderkind third baseman opened a three-game series in Anaheim on Tuesday night. Vlad Jr. and Albert Pujols connected before the game:

Guerrero was 89 days old -- 89 days old! -- when the Cardinals selected Pujols in the 13th round of the 1999 MLB draft. Generations colliding indeed. Speaking of which, look what Vladito rudely did to the old man: 

Now here is everything you need to know about the rest of the day in baseball.

Select games can be streamed regionally via fuboTV (Try for free). For more on what channel each game is on, click here.

Baseball scores for Tuesday

Betts heating up for Red Sox

Exactly two weeks ago, reigning AL MVP Mookie Betts called his play "unacceptable." Betts went 0 for 3 in that night's game to drop his season batting line to .212/.321/.394. That's not truly horrible, but it sure as heck isn't good.

Fast forward to Tuesday, and Betts is as hot as any player in the game. He's gone 17 for 42 (.405) with five doubles, two homers, eight walks, and five strikeouts in 11 games since calling his performance "unacceptable." And, on Tuesday night, he swatted a first inning home run against the Athletics.

Betts is red hot and the Red Sox are slowly but surely working their way out of their early season slump. Since starting 2-8, the Red Sox have gone 11-9 in their last 20 games. That counts as progress, I do believe.

Sabathia gets 3,000th strikeout

Yankees stalwart CC Sabathia on Tuesday night against the Diamondbacks notched the 3,000th strikeout of his career. He becomes just the 17th pitcher in history to join that exclusive club. Even more impressive is that Sabathia is just the third lefty ever to get to 3,000 Ks. Here's the history maker: 

Our own Mike Axisa has more on Sabathia's milestone. 

Martinez keeps hitting

In edging the Nationals on Tuesday night, the Cardinals notched a second-straight come-from-behind win in D.C. Overall, they've now won four in a row and nine of their last 10. Mike Shildt's squadron still has the NL's best record, and they finish April with 19 wins. 

There are many reasons for those early successes. One of them is Jose Martinez. On Tuesday night in Washington, he went 2 for 3 with a walk. Thanks in part to some erratic playing time early on -- the Cardinals' crowded outfield situation is to blame -- Martinez got off to a slow start, but he now boasts these numbers for the season: 

player headshot
Jose Martinez
NYM • RF • #16
2019
PA82
AVG.364
OBP.390
SLG.468
H28
View Profile

Martinez has only one home run on the season, and he's drawn just four walks. Still, that lofty batting average is enough to carry him to productivity. This isn't a fluke, either. Since arriving in the majors in 2016, he's done nothing but hit. Coming into Tuesday night, Martinez boasted a career OPS+ of 128, and he's never had a bad season. 

He's 6 foot 6 with an unconventional setup and load at the plate, and he didn't crack the majors until he was 28 years of age. Still and yet, he's done nothing but produce. Professional hitter, this guy. 

Highlight of the day: Turner finally gets on the board

Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner entered Tuesday night's game in San Fran having gone 119 plate appearances this season without a home run -- the longest homerless streak in MLB for 2019. He added three more PAs to that tally before he came up in the seventh against Ty Blach and his changeup: 

And the digits on Turner's first dinger of his age-34 campaign: 

Turner's now batting .279/.379/.337 for the year. The OBP is strong, but he now has just four extra-base hits on the season, which explains the paltry SLG. Over his first five seasons in L.A., Turner slugged .505 and averaged 23 home runs and 38 doubles per 162 games played, so this is a bit out of character for him (and could indicate the onset of his decline phase). On the other hand, Turner is a slow starter, especially when it comes to power, so perhaps this is merely business as usual taken to extremes. 

Stat of the day: Voit extends on-base streak to 40 games

The longest active on-base streak in baseball reached 40 games Tuesday night. Yankees first baseman Luke Voit drew a first inning walk against Zack Greinke, pushing his on-base streak to 40 games. That, obviously, dates back to last season.

Here are the longest active on-base streaks:

  1. Luke Voit, Yankees: 40 games
  2. Mike Trout, Angels: 26 games
  3. Anthony Rendon, Nationals: 19 games
  4. Cody Bellinger, Dodgers: 19 games
  5. Yadier Molina, Cardinals: 19 games

The Yankees acquired Voit in a relatively minor trade with the Cardinals prior to last year's deadline and he's been a revelation in pinstripes. He went in Tuesday's game hitting .283/.397/.538 with eight homers on the season. That's after hitting .333/.405/.689 with 14 homers in 39 games after the trade last season.

Quick hits