It was little secret that the biggest news heading into Friday night's action was the heavily-hyped debut of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. For a while, his performance was overshadowed by the Blue Jays' starting pitcher and then their bullpen blowing a lead, but he had a big hand in the victory. 

Vlad's debut wasn't the only successful debut among top prospects, either. 

Elsewhere, Albert Pujols chases history and a fellow slugging contemporary broke a long home run drought. Francisco Lindor did something notable with his own longball, the Twins are bullying the Orioles with their own home runs and much more. 

The nightly roundup begins, right now! 

Baseball schedule/scores for Friday, April 26

Dramatic win for Jays in Vlad's debut

Yes, Friday night was the much-ballyhooed debut of Vlad Jr. Here's a complete breakdown of his night. 

Through seven innings, the star of the show was Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman. In the midst of a stellar bounce-back season, the diminutive hurler allowed just one hit (a single) in seven innings. He struck out seven and walked two. He had his usual exuberance and swagger out there, lowering his season ERA to 1.43 and WHIP to 1.09. Stroman did not, however, figure in the decision. 

Blue Jays reliever Joe Biagini blew the save in the eighth on a two-run homer off the bat of A's outfielder Robbie Grossman. 

Still, that set the table for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to lead off the ninth. The Toronto crowd was on its feet in hopes of a walk-off homer. The phenom didn't pull that off, but he did set up the victory by punching a two-strike pitch down the right-field line for a double. He was replaced with a pinch runner that, as it turns out, wouldn't be needed. Brandon Drury, take it away: 

The Blue Jays got off to a rough start to the season, but they've now won seven of their last 10 games. Their newest toy absolutely looks the part of a future star and won't take long to become one. Stroman is pitching like an ace and Aaron Sanchez is also bouncing back. They are now 12-14 on the season and the natives are once again excited about Blue Jays baseball. Don't sleep on these guys as a fringe contender. 

DeGrom's struggles mount

Is it time to legitimately worry about Mets ace and 2018 Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom? Dayn Perry takes a look. 

Past-prime sluggers make splash

Remember when two of the best power hitters in baseball were future Hall of Famers Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera? It wasn't that long ago, was it? Nights in which they both homered weren't incredibly difficult to find. These days they are, but it happened on this night. 

Miggy: 

That was Cabrera's first home run since April 28 of last season and this was, unsurprisingly, the longest home run drought in his esteemed career. Frankly, it was pretty nice to see the return of that easy opposite-field power we saw for so many years. 

Pujols: 

Those numbers in the tweet are the career RBI for Pujols that came on this homer. Per Baseball-Reference.com (some totals are disputed, notably Ruth and especially Anson), here is the all-time RBI leaderboard. 

  1. Hank Aaron - 2,297
  2. Babe Ruth -  2,214
  3. Alex Rodriguez - 2,086
  4. Cap Anson - 2,075
  5. Barry Bonds - 1,996
  6. Lou Gehrig - 1,995
    Albert Pujols - 1,995

Yes, math majors, Pujols is two RBI away from being alone in fifth place all-time. He probably can't get to third on the all-time last this year, but it's an easy bet that's exactly where he ends up. I guess there's an outside chance he could get to second, too. What a career. 

The Twins are picking on the Orioles' pitching staff

The Orioles have already made history for the most home runs allowed in a month. They entered Friday with 59 gopher balls given up on the season. Last weekend in a three-game series, the Twins battered the Orioles for 11 homers. All 11 actually came in a doubleheader on Saturday. Yikes. 

Well, they weren't done. They went back-to-back-to-back in the first: 

They would add two more, giving the Twins 16 home runs against the Orioles in four games. That's some serious cruelty. 

The Twins are 14-9 and it's not just against the Orioles. They have a powerful lineup that is fun to watch and it's what is going to keep them competing for first place in the AL Central throughout the season. 

Lindor's HR milestone

Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor hit his second home run of the season on Friday night and it marked the 100th of his career: 

According to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, Lindor is the third-youngest shortstop to get to 100 career home runs, trailing only A-Rod and Cal Ripken. That's pretty decent, no? 

The Indians were either trailing or tied for much of the first several innings, but took the lead in the seventh on a Tyler Naquin RBI double. In the ninth, Lindor added some insurance with a two-run shot, which was obviously his first two-homer game of the season. It's a good bet it won't be his last. 

After three straight losses, the Indians have now won three in a row, including two against the team that swept them last ALDS. It's interesting to note that earlier this season the Indians were swept by the lowly Royals but then rebounded with four straight wins. So it's now gone three losses, four wins, three losses and three wins. Odd, but that's baseball for ya. 

Kieboom homers, Nats bullpen again an issue

Poor Carter Kieboom. He's a very good prospect and made his major-league debut on Friday. It's just that in terms of a debut, everyone in the baseball world was staring at Vlad Jr. Still, Kieboom announced his presence with authority in the eighth inning. 

I love seeing the shots of the parents for those. So fun. What a feeling of pride that must be. That was a game-tying shot, too. Alas, the Nationals' bullpen was their undoing again. 

Heading into Friday, the latest bullpen screw-up, the Nationals were dead last in the majors with a 7.07 ERA. They had four blown saves and five bullpen losses. Add on another loss with this one. 

With a tie score in the top of the eighth, Kyle Barraclough walked the lead-off man who eventually came around to score. The Kieboom homer tied it, but then Hunter Renfroe homered off Sean Doolittle in the ninth and the Padres closed this thing down. 

The upstart and very fun Padres are now 15-11. The Nationals fall to 11-13. They are now 1-5 in Scherzer's starts this season. 

Highlight of the Night: Was this bat flip OK?

White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson hit a walk-off homer in the game the Tigers once led 9-2. 

Let's check with the Royals before celebrating the manner in which Anderson acted after his solid contact here, OK? 

On a serious note, Anderson is hitting .402/.422/.632 this season. 

Quick hits

  • Dodgers slugger Cody Bellinger homered for the 13th time this season, tying him with Christian Yelich for the MLB lead. 
  • It might have come in sneaky fashion, but the Colorado Rockies are one of the hottest teams in baseball right now. After starting 3-12, they have won nine of their last 11 games following a win in Atlanta Friday night. They are still two games under .500, but the entire NL is so competitive, they have weathered the proverbial storm. 
  • The Diamondbacks have won 10 of their last 12 games and the only two losses were to the Cubs, who were at home and red hot at the time. They got those same Cubs Friday night rather comfortably and the offense is still humming. 
  • White Sox left fielder Eloy Jimenez left the game Friday with a right ankle injury. X-rays came back negative, fortunately. 
  • The Tigers have placed starter Jordan Zimmermann on the injured list with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament. 
  • The Angels have placed closer Cody Allen on the injured list with a back injury. 
  • The Nationals have placed reliever Trevor Rosenthal on the IL with a viral infection. 
  • The Giants are looking for outfield help, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
  • The Rockies have acquired reliever James Pazos from the Phillies in exchange for infielder Hunter Stovall. 
  • Five relievers who throw hard that you might want to learn about.
  • Derek Jeter's first trade with the Yankees looks like a win for the Marlins.