The Toronto Blue Jays capped a series for the ages Wednesday in Denver — and added to the woes of the Colorado Rockies in the process.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had four hits, including a home run, and Davis Schneider went deep twice as the Blue Jays routed the Rockies again at Coors Field in a 20-1 win.
Toronto finished with 63 hits in the series, the most by a team in a three-game set since 1900.
But the offensive accolades didn’t stop there.
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The Blue Jays, who won the series opener 15-1 and the middle game 10-4, set a franchise record for runs (45) in a three-game series. It was the sixth time in franchise history (since 1977) that they scored at least 20 runs.
“Averaging 20-plus hits a game in a three-game series is pretty absurd,” winning pitcher Kevin Gausman told reporters. “I don’t think you can say anything else. The offense has been exceptional.”
Bo Bichette and Ernie Clement also homered Wednesday for American League East-leading Toronto, which hit 13 home runs in the series. Ty France had three doubles, and Clement totaled four hits.
Bichette and Daulton Varsho, who didn’t play Wednesday, each had 10 RBIs in the series to become the first pair of teammates with 10 RBIs each in a series of three games or fewer since Edgar Martínez and Alex Rodriguez did so for the Seattle Mariners in 2000 — against Toronto.
Guerrero extended his on-base streak to 23 games, the longest current streak in the AL.
Toronto scored its final eight runs in the ninth inning off Colorado catcher Austin Nola, who gave up eight hits, including homers by Schneider and Clement.
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Gausman (8-8) allowed one run and three hits in seven innings. He struck out eight and walked two.
Bichette hit a three-run homer off Kyle Freeland (2-12) in the third for a 3-1 lead. Nathan Lukes had a two-run triple in the fifth, and Schneider homered off Angel Chivilli to begin a four-run sixth. Guerrero connected in the eighth.
The Rockies (30-84), meanwhile, continued a seasonlong spiral.
They now have a run differential of -316 for the season. Their 114 games are the fewest to reach a -300 run differential since 1900, surpassing the 1911 Boston Rustlers (118 games). The last team to reach the mark in fewer games was the 1899 Cleveland Spiders, who did so in 73 games before folding at the end of the season.
“It’s a really good team that puts the ball in play a ton. That’s what they do,” Rockies interim manager Warren Schaeffer told reporters. “It’s why they’re on top of the American League. So you’ve got to tip your hat to them, and we’ve got to make better pitches.”
Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.
