The rookie from Japan has put together a low batting average, but he's been worth every penny from a true production standpoint.
The Toronto Blue Jays moved back to. 500 for the first time since late June on Friday night with a 9-2 win over the Kansas City Royals. As a result, they are just one game back of the Cleveland Guardians in the battle for the third and final wild card spot with 21 games to play.
A win on Saturday would push the Blue Jays above .500 for the first time since April 3, when they were just 4-3.
Four different Blue Jays had multi-hit games in this contest, including Ernie Clement, who put himself in historic company with his 40th extra-base hit of the season. Kazuma Okamoto only had one hit, but he did have an RBI, also moving himself up some all-time Blue Jays leaderboards in the process.
As told by StatsCentre, Okamoto's 79 RBIs are now the second-most by a rookie in team history. Only Eric Hinske (84 in 2002) had more, so Okamoto only needs six more over the final three weeks of the season to own the top spot.
Signed to a four-year deal worth $60 million over the offseason, Okamoto has been integral to a Blue Jays team largely devoid of power this season. He's only hitting .227 with a .301 on-base percentage, but he has a .739 OPS as a result of 28 homers and the 79 RBIs.
Toronto Blue Jays third base Kazuma Okamoto (7) hits a single during the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. William Purnell-Imagn ImagesHe had six seasons of 30 homers or more in Japan and he's on track to hit that in his first season in North America as well. If Vladimir Guerrero Jr. can rediscover his power stroke next season, they should make quite a duo in the middle of the order. And with Anthony Santander hopefully back healthy, there are already exciting possibilities for the 2027 Jays.
But 2026 is not over, and they still have chance to get back to the playoffs for the second straight year
Toronto will take on the Royals again on Saturday night with first pitch at 7:10 p.m. ET. Veteran right-hander Max Scherzer will pitch against fellow veteran Seth Lugo. Scherzer is coming off a 10-strikeout performance against the Seattle Mariners last Sunday.
Also of note
While nobody believes it will truly happen because of labor issues, the spring training schedule for the Jays was announced on Friday. Once again, the Jays will have camp in Dunedin, Fla. You can check out the full schedule, with some observations and takeaways, here.
