The Toronto Blue Jays earned a much-needed win against their American League East arch rivals, the New York Yankees, on Friday at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

The Blue Jays beat the Yankees 8-5 and improved to 34-36 on the season. With the win, Toronto gained a game on the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East and are now eight games behind for the top spot in the division.

The Blue Jays are now just a half-game behind the Texas Rangers and Athletics for the final AL wild card spot.

In Toronto's Friday victory, third baseman Kazuma Okamoto etched his name into team history.

Okamoto hit a two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the first inning. His blast traveled to the 500-level of Rogers Centre in left field. Okamoto became the 10th player in Blue Jays history to hit a home run to the 500 level.

Okamoto's home run Friday was his 14th of the season, which is by far the most on the team.

Infielder Ernie Clement, outfielder Jesus Sanchez and catcher Brandon Valenzuela are tied for the second-most on the team with seven.

The 29-year-old infielder was one of the most notable offseason signings for Toronto.

Okamoto joined the Blue Jays after an 11-season career in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball with the Yomiuri Giants (2015-25), which is the most notable franchise in Japan.

Toronto signed Okamoto to a four-year, $60 million contract ($15 million AAV).

When Okamoto had his introductory news conference, he pointed toward the Blue Jays' status as title contenders as a reason for his signing.

Upon him agreeing to a contract with Toronto, the organization was coming off its first American League pennant since 1993 and forced the two-time defending World Series champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, to seven games in the 2025 World Series.

This season, Okamoto has slashed .230/.308/.431 with a .739 OPS in 68 games and has hit eight doubles with his aforementioned 14 homers with 40 RBIs.

Okamoto's 40 RBIs also leads the team. The player with the second-most RBIs on the team is shortstop Andres Gimenez (30).

The Blue Jays have had a positive turn in their injury fortunes in the past week with the return of starting pitchers Dylan Cease and Max Scherzer and starting catcher Alejandro Kirk.

With those players back in the fold and Okamoto on his current trajectory, there's a good chance Toronto could find its way back into the contendership status that attracted the former NPB All-Star in the first place.

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