Hard feelings over HBP as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. shows displeasure with Greg Weissert, Anthony Rizzo during Yankees' loss to Blue Jays

The Yankees’ bats failed to show for the opener of a series against the Blue Jays, a team expected to be in the fight for the AL East title.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s bat certainly showed, but that wasn’t a surprise. That is pretty much always the case when he takes the stage at Yankee Stadium.

Playing in the road ballpark he seems to enjoy more than any other, Guerrero swatted a two-run homer off Domingo German in the first inning, putting the Yankees in an early hole in a 6-1 loss to Toronto.

Guerrero, who has 11 career homers at the Stadium, finished 2-for-4. He glared at Greg Weissert in the ninth after the righthander hit him on the left elbow with a first-pitch sinker, nearly causing a benches-clearing incident — but only nearly. Despite staring at Weissert as he made his way to first and not appearing pleased with Anthony Rizzo walking toward him and talking, Guerrero never made a move toward the mound.

It was yet another example of the burgeoning rivalry between two teams that in recent years have steadily grown to dislike each other.

Said Rizzo, “Obviously not trying to hit Vlad there . . . He seemed to be good and just kept staring at Greg and kept staring at him. I just took exception to that. He’s not trying to hit him there.”

What was Rizzo saying? “Just walk to first base. That was really it. Wasn’t much more than that,’’ he said. “I just took exception. I’m going to back my teammate. It was obviously an accident. I get Vlad’s side of being [ticked off] getting hit. I’ve been hit many times.”

Said Weissert: “That’s the kind of teammate that he is, and I think that speaks to the kind of guys we have in this locker room. Everybody’s got each other’s back, and I’m thankful for that.”

He added: “I don’t really know what he was thinking. I obviously wasn’t trying to hit him. You guys watched the game. I didn’t have my best stuff tonight and was losing command of the strike zone.”

Aaron Boone called it “much ado about nothing.”

Brandon Belt had a two-run homer in the sixth and a two-run double in the eighth as the Blue Jays outhit the Yankees 8-5. Both teams are 12-8.

Oswaldo Cabrera hit a two-out homer in the second inning to bring the Yankees within 2-1.

German, who settled down after the first inning, retiring 12 straight at one point, allowed four runs and five hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out six.

Blue Jays lefthander Yusei Kikuchi, who came in 2-0 but with a 4.70 ERA, allowed one run, four hits and two walks in six innings in which he struck out three.

Said Rizzo: “He was hitting his spots. He had his slider and cutter going. That cutter, it was really biting hard, especially to righties. He threw really well.”

George Springer led off the game by hammering the first pitch he saw into the leftfield corner for a double. After Bo Bichette popped out, Guerrero crushed a 0-and-1 curveball to left-center for his fourth homer and a 2-0 lead. Guerrero entered the night hitting .289 with 10 homers and a .922 OPS in 31 career games at the Stadium.

“That pitch, that’s an expand curveball there that we’re trying to execute there,’’ German said. “And fortunate for him, it stayed in his power zone and he was able to connect there.”

Boone said of the difficulty of facing Guerrero: “He’s one of the best hitters in the league. Can hit the ball out to all fields, can handle velocity, but if you make a mistake with the spin, like tonight, he can do that. One of the really good hitters in the league, obviously.”

German settled down after Kevin Kiermaier’s single in the second, retiring 12 straight before Matt Chapman’s one-out walk in the sixth. With Albert Abreu warming, German got Daulton Varsho to ground into a forceout. He could not get out of the inning unscathed, however, as Belt sent his first pitch to him into the Yankees’ bullpen in right-center to make it 4-1.

Abreu, who pitched a 1-2-3 seventh after taking over for German, allowed back-to-back singles to Bichette and Guerrero to start the eighth. Abreu struck out Chapman and Varsho, but Belt sent a line shot toward the rightfield wall and Aaron Judge saw the ball glance off the palm of his glove for a two-run double that made it 6-1.