Lenyn Sosa helps Blue Jays ride Okamoto's 2 homers to 7-3 win
lenyn sosa had three hits, and Kazuma Okamoto backed that up with two solo homers as the Blue Jays beat the Twins 7-3 on Friday at Target Field. It was Okamoto’s first multi-homer game in the majors, a rare power burst in a lineup Toronto is still trying to sort out.
Okamoto at Target Field
Okamoto opened the game’s damage in the fourth inning with a solo shot off a slider from Simeon Woods Richardson. He struck again in the fifth on a first-pitch splitter, this time after Vladimir Guerrero Jr. worked a six-pitch walk ahead of him.
The second homer pushed Toronto further ahead, and Okamoto later came within inches of a third in the ninth inning. After the game, he said through interpreter Yusuke Oshima, “It’s a really good lineup and I’m just part of it,” then added, “My mentality just is to just pass the baton, make sure that I’m not ending the inning, ending a rally, just making sure I pass the baton off to the next batter.”
Blue Jays lineup support
Yohendrick Pinango also had three hits, giving Toronto another steady day at the plate behind the two home runs. The Blue Jays have won eight of their last 12 games, a stretch that has come while the club keeps working through injuries and roster churn.
Manager John Schneider said after Thursday night’s 7-1 loss that the offense is still being sorted out. “We’re still sorting through that, really, to be honest with you and the domino effect of not having guys, it leads to some guys trying to do things that they’re not great at or do too much. It’s a constant thing we talk about every day. The important thing is figuring out that now. Yeah, you can dream of what it looks like when you get Lukey (Nathan Lukes) and (Addison) Barger and (Alejandro) Kirk and whoever back. You’ve got to figure out everyone, really, and how they fit with one another.”
Schneider’s offense puzzle
Schneider also described the earlier version of the attack this way: “Everyone kind of knew what they were doing — this guy’s going to grind, this guy’s going to make contact, this guy we want to slug,” That clarity has been harder to find with Bo Bichette gone in free agency and other pieces missing, which has left Toronto looking for production from different spots in the order.
Okamoto’s two-homer night gave the Blue Jays that kind of production on a night when Lenyn Sosa and Pinango each added three hits. For Toronto, the immediate gain is simple: one more middle-order bat producing real damage while the club keeps trying to make the lineup fit together around the players it has.
