Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Addison Barger reinforced the decision to swap their spots in the Blue Jays lineup with another strong performance in Wednesday’s win over the D-backs.

TORONTO — Torey Lovullo believes the role comfort can play in an athlete’s success “is a real thing,” and he factors that into his lineups, even if “it’s probably more of a personal mind game” and objective data might suggest a different alignment.

“I have that with Ketel Marte,” said the Arizona Diamondbacks manager. “He likes to hit second against righties and first against lefties. I’ve asked him to hit third many times and he said, ‘I don’t like it.’ He’s one of the best players in baseball and I’m going to listen to one of the best players in baseball. I feel like if we were to put Ketel third at all times, he would probably have the same type of year. For right now, it works, and I want him to hit first or second, for sure. But it’s a real thing. Players get into that head space a little bit, and once you’re there, it’s hard for a player to get out of it, believe it or not.”

To wit, Marte’s career OPS after the Toronto Blue Jays beat his Diamondbacks 8-1 is .860 in 1,137 plate appearances when batting first, .877 in 1,993 plate appearances when hitting second and .754 in 463 plate appearances out of the three-hole.

Logic suggests that where someone hits in the lineup should have no meaningful bearing on performance, as it’s not like it changes someone’s swing or the way they see the ball. But through an agnostic lens, while it may not be something, it’s probably not nothing, either.