This one had everything. Troy Melton struggled and got knocked out early, but the bullpen managed to bend without breaking. Meanwhile, the young Tigers hitters were centre stage as they fought back repeatedly with good at-bats late in this one. Kenley Jansen picked up his 496th major league save to wrap up the victory.
Monday night's first of three at the Rogers Centre featured Melton against right-hander José Soriano. The Blue Jays have had almost as strange a season as the Tigers. Struggling through the first half, they moved long time top starter Kevin Gausman, but acquired Soriano at the deadline as well, and have kept themselves in the thick of the wild card race.
Things didn't start off too well as the Tigers quickly went 1-2-3 in the first, and Melton immediately dug himself a hole. Brett Bateman led off by slashing a single the opposite way past a diving Hao-Yu Lee for a leadoff single. Bateman appeared to be thrown out stealing second on a pitch that was called a ball and incorrectly challenged by Dillon Dingler to walk George Springer. So everyone was safe, and after Vladimir Guerrero Jr. grounded out to advance the runners, Alejandro Kirk singled home Bateman for a 1-0 lead.
Melton didn't help his cause against Nathan Lukes by yanking a wild pitch to score Springer, but he retired Lukes and Kazuma Okamoto flew out to Clark to end the first inning. 2-0 Blue Jays.
A Dingler strikeout started the second inning, and Max Clark and Brett Callahan grounded out.

#melton #soriano #brett

Blue Jays 5 A's 6
I wanted to ***** le this 'Bad Pitching, Defense and Hitting Leads to a Loss' but that's too many words.
A bad moment on defense, in the first inning, turned out to be very costly. Dylan Cease was having a rough time in the first. A walk to Henry Bolte, who followed that with a steal. Then a ground rule double to score the first run of the game. A single gave the A's runners on the corners, with two out. Carlos Cortes went to steal second, Alejandro Kirk threw to second, and the runner on third came home. Ernie Clement threw back home in plenty of time to get the runner, but the runner stopped and turned around. Kirk chased him, and the runner seemed to be giving up, but Kirk threw to Kazuma Okamoto, and it wasn't a good throw, went off Okamoto's glove and the runner scored. 2-0 after half an inning. Just a bad play. Just chasing him back to third would have been fine.
Kirk homered in the bottom of the inning, making up for the mistake.
But the A's got two more in the third. Bolte again walked and stole season (maybe next year, Cease could come up with a way to hold runners?). After a popup, Bolte stole third. Next batter, Zack Gelof hit a ground ball to third, Okamoto came home but the throw was too late. Then Gelof steal second and third and a single scored him. 4-1 A's.

#Third #runner #threw #home

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kazuma Okamoto had four hits and two RBIs, including a tiebreaking single in the seventh inning, as the surging Toronto Blue Jays beat the Kansas City Royals 4-3 on Saturday night to pull even with Cleveland for the final American League playoff spot.
Toronto (72-71) won for the seventh time in eight games and moved over .500 for the first time since the Blue Jays were 4-3 on April 3. The defending AL champions, who were 10 games under .500 on July 28, are tied with the Guardians for the league's third wild card.
Okamoto went 4 for 5 with a double and broke a 3-all tie in the seventh with an RBI single. In the third inning, Okamoto hit an RBI double that hit third base over a diving Josh Rojas and rolled into the left-field corner.
Nathan Lukes had three hits for Toronto, including an RBI single that made it 2-0 in the first.
___

#okamoto #single #Third

Sep. 4—COULEE CITY — Last season, the Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors (15-3) achieved their goals of reaching the state tournament and competing at the highest level. This season they look to build on that.
"We have a ton of talent this year," Head Coach Katie Walsh said. "(We're) coming in with the mindset that we have the toughest district in the state, and we have to show up and compete every day and practice at our highest levels if we want to get to our goals — and that's definitely the state tournament and placing."
The Warriors made a deep run to the semifinals of the 1B state volleyball tournament before falling to Garfield-Palouse 3-0.
The Warriors roster five seniors once again this season. Walsh highlighted Dani Isaak, Grace Okamoto and Josie Bayless as three standout players that will fulfill key roles for ACH this season.
Isaak was a captain for ACH last season, Walsh said. She anticipates the returning senior to grow more as a leader as she brings a calm presence to the court and helps instill Walsh's vision for the upcoming season. Okamoto will return as the team's libero, who was praised for her defensive prowess.

#season #state #tournament

Blue Jays 1 Guardians 6
The Jays had all sorts of troubles with Guardians starter Gavin Williams. Well, really just one trouble. They couldn't hit him. Williams went seven innings and allowed just two hits and a walk with thirteen strikeouts.
Our one run was in the fourth. Kazuma Okamoto led off with a single. After Andrés Giménez struck out, Ernie Clement went to a full count and the Jays sent Okamoto (surprising me, Oka is not fast and the Jays were striking out a lot). Clement took ball four, but the Guardians threw to second anyway. The throw was well wide of second and Okamoto went to third on the play. After Myles Straw struck out (I really thought that he had to make contact or we weren't going to score at all today) Williams threw a wild pitch to Brett Bateman, allowing Oka to score. Oka going first to home without the help of a hit wasn't on my bingo card.
The Jays didn't have any more luck against Guardian relievers, Hunter Gaddis and Matt Festa.
The bullpen day started off ok, for the Jays, but didn't end well.

#really

Just be a better game than yesterday's game. It is a simple ask. Admittedly, it would be hard to be worse.
The season has me thinking about the value of hitting coaches. The Jays had a disappointing 2024 season, and reshaped the hitting coaching staff. And last year they hit well. Lots of praise to the coaches.
This year, basically same hitting coaches and we aren't hitting at all. Did the coaches suddenly get stupid? Or are hitting coaches overrated. Would the Jays be any worse with me as hitting coach? Oh likely. But would any hitting coach cause the Jays to hit better? Is there words you could use to get Vlad, Springer, Clement (92 OPS+), Giménez, Okamoto (100 OPS+), Lukes, Straw hitting better?
Should hitting coaches be fired at the end of every season? Maybe players tend to turn off the same voices, saying the same things.
MARINERS

#coaches #same

With over 40 games remaining in the MLB season, 2026 is shaping up to be one of the best years for **** anese-born hitters — and it's being led by a pair of rookies.
USA TODAY **** yzed home run data for **** anese-born players to uncover the single seasons with the most homers hit by such players.
Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox has hit 26 home runs in his first MLB season so far. That is tied for the ninth-best home run season by a **** anese-born player.
DIG DEEPER: Munetaka Murakami shines with 2 HR, career-high 6 RBI on bobblehead day
Fellow rookie Kazuma Okamoto of Toronto is two home runs back with 24. Both players have hit more homers than any other **** anese-born rookie, eclipsing the 22-homer season Shohei Ohtani had in 2018.

#runs

TORONTO (AP) — Charles McAdoo homered and Jameson Taillon pitched four scoreless innings before leaving with an injury as the Toronto Blue Jays beat Boston 2-1 on Monday night to hand the Red Sox their third loss in a row.
Boston's skid follows a nine-game winning streak that capped a franchise-record string of 27 victories in 30 games.
McAdoo hit his second major league home run in nine career games leading off the fifth to give Toronto a 1-0 lead. The 24-year-old rookie made his first start at third base in place of Kazuma Okamoto, a late scratch due to a bruised left knee.
Taillon gave up one hit and walked three before exiting with forearm discomfort. It was his second start for the Blue Jays and first at home since being acquired from the Chicago Cubs in a trade on Aug. 2.
Simeon Woods-Richardson (2-7) replaced Taillon to begin the fifth and gave up one run in three innings for the win. Louis Varland pitched a scoreless ninth for his 25th save.

#blue

TORONTO (AP) — Charles McAdoo homered and Jameson Taillon pitched four scoreless innings before leaving with an injury as the Toronto Blue Jays beat Boston 2-1 on Monday night to hand the Red Sox their third loss in a row.
Boston's skid follows a nine-game winning streak that capped a franchise-record string of 27 victories in 30 games.
McAdoo hit his second major league home run in nine career games leading off the fifth to give Toronto a 1-0 lead. The 24-year-old rookie made his first start at third base in place of Kazuma Okamoto, a late scratch due to a bruised left knee.
Taillon gave up one hit and walked three before exiting with forearm discomfort. It was his second start for the Blue Jays and first at home since being acquired from the Chicago Cubs in a trade on Aug. 2.
Simeon Woods-Richardson (2-7) replaced Taillon to begin the fifth and gave up one run in three innings for the win. Louis Varland pitched a scoreless ninth for his 25th save.

#taillon #blue #jays #pitched

All streaks must eventually come to an end. Blue Jays 3 Astros 1 For Houston, their 6-game run might be history, but a new chapter has officially begun. A few hours prior to Monday's trade deadline, Houston would acquire Daulton Varsho in an effort to shore up their outfield production. Varsho would seize the moment, paying immediate dividends in the first inning. In some ways, it was only fitting that Nathan Lukes would start the night flying out to Daulton, and then in his Astros debut at the plate, he'd reach on a single to right field.
In the top of the second, Alejandro Kirk started the scoring with a solo shot to left field. That made the score 1-0. In the fourth, Toronto would increase their lead after a pair of hits from Kazuma Okamoto and George Springer, combined with an error from Taylor Trammell. That combination of events made things 3-0.
Houston would have their chances early but failed to capitalize. In their first and second innings they'd have multiple runners on base, but Christian Walker and Jeremy Pena each struck out swinging, stranding a pair of runners.
Cristian Javier would provide a quality start. Javier would go 6 innings and allow just 3 runs while scattering 7 hits. In the 7th inning, Tatsuya Imai would make his debut out of the bullpen and pitch three scoreless innings, at one point, striking out five in a row for an impressive relief outing.
In the bottom of the 6th, Houston would load the bases. They'd score their first and only run on Jeremy Pena's RBI single which brought in Yanier Diaz. In the frame, Yordan Alvarez would be intentionally walked for the 23rd time this season. The Astros all-time record is 27 free passes, which Jeff Bagwell registered back in 1997.

#astros #varsho #javier #they 'd

BEIRUT (AP) — Kozo Okamoto, the ***** anese militant who took part in a deadly attack on Tel Aviv's airport more than five decades ago, died Thursday in Beirut, the Palestinian group that had been protecting him said. He was 78.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a faction that is the second-largest group in the Palestine Liberation Organization, said that Okamoto had been ill for a long time.
Okamoto, who made rare public appearances since he settled in Lebanon after being released from Israel, was known within the PFLP as Ahmad al-Yabani, or Ahmad the ***** anese.
The PFLP said in its statement that Okamoto's journey was "marked by immense sacrifices spanning for decades on the battlefields of struggle in support of the Palestinian cause." The Palestinian group added that Okamoto "never compromised nor faltered but remained steadfast to his principles."
Okamoto had served 12 years in an Israeli lockup for a May 30, 1972 attack on the international airport outside Tel Aviv that was thought to be carried out by members of the ***** anese Red Army guerrilla group in a joint operation with the PFLP.

#okamoto #beirut

The San Diego Padres brought the winning run to the plate with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays. Xander Bogaerts stepped into the batter's box with Jackson Merrill and Fernando Tatis Jr. on first and second base after the Padres recorded three consecutive two-out hits off Padres closer Louis Varland. Bogaerts worked the count full, but on the final pitch of the at-bat he hit a routine ground ball to third base, which resulted in the final out of the game to give San Diego a 5-3 loss at the hands of Toronto in their series opener at Petco Park on Friday night.
The Padres came into the bottom of the ninth trailing, 5-2. Jake Cronenworth pinch hit and struck out to open the inning and Luis Rengifo hit a deep fly ball into left field for the second out of the inning. Luis Campusano lined a ball back through the middle of the infield and Tatis followed with a line drive single through the right side of the infield. Merrill stepped in and connected on another base hit, which scored Campusano to cut the deficit to 5-3.
Bogaerts represented the winning run and Petco Park was waiting to erupt with a big hit from the San Diego shortstop. Bogaerts started the scoring in the game in the bottom of the first inning when he connected on a two-run home run off starter Shane Bieber to put the Padres up 2-0. Considering the speed of Tatis and Merrill and the fact that they were on the move on a 3-2 pitch, a base hit by Bogaerts might have tied the game, but it would have likely brought San Diego within a run with Manny Machado set to come to the plate. However, that was not how the 3-2 pitch played out. Instead, Bogaerts bounced a ground ball to Toronto third baseman Kazuma Okamoto who threw across the diamond in time to get Bogaerts to end the inning and the game.
Okamoto proved to have the game-winning hit for the Blue Jays in the top of the fifth inning. Padres starter JP Sears allowed two of the first three batters of the inning to reach base on singles and Jhony Brito came in to face Vladamir Guerrero Jr. Brito allowed an RBI-single and Toronto tied the game at 2-2. Brito then faced Okamoto who won a seven-pitch at-bat with a 377-foot three-run home run into the left field bleachers to give the Blue Jays a 5-2 lead.
San Diego will try to stop a two-game losing streak in the second game of the series against Toronto today at 5:40 p.m.

Jays 1 Giants 10
I don't know….
At least in the past we were able to make the easy defensive plays. But tonight, we couldn't even do that.
Andrés Giménez made an error. Kazuma Okamoto made an official, had another that should have been an error and made a lousy play on a throw into third which was just a bad mistake, too bad to be called an error. Kirk made a poor throw to second, and Ernie Clement made a worse home back to home.
Kevin Gausman wasn't great. He wasn't as bad as the score made him look, but he wasn't great. 5.1 innings, 5 hits, 7 runs, 4 earned, 5 walks and 8 strikeouts. Yeah the defense didn't help him out and two of his earned runs came after he left the game.

Blue Jays 2 Mariners 0
The bad news? We only scored 2 runs, which is pretty normal.
The good news? They didn't score 2 runs.
We got both our runs in the third inning. Sean Keys started it with a single. Andrés Giménez doubled him home. John had Nathan Lukes bunt Giménez to third. IN THE THIRD INNING. When he was already in scoring position. Nathan Lukes, the one guy in the lineup who has been hitting (well, not the one guy, but hyperbola works when ranting). Vlad Guerrero singled Andrés home (he would have scored from second too). Kazuma Okamoto singled, but Daulton Varsho lined out and Alejandro Kirk ground out.
We only had six hits on the day (four of them in the third inning). Sean Keys had two hits. Lukes, Varsho, Kirk, and Ernie Clement had 0 fors.

TORONTO (AP) — Wyatt Langford hit a three–run home run, Jake Burger and Joc Pederson also went deep, and the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 on Thursday night.
Pederson went 2 for 3 with two walks and scored twice as Texas bounced back after losing the previous two.
Toronto's Kazuma Okamoto cut the deficit to one with a two-run homer off Jacob Latz in the ninth, his 18th.
Latz recovered by retiring Alejandro Kirk on a grounder and striking out pinch hitter Brandon Valenzuela for his 15th save in 17 chances.
Rangers shortstop Corey Seager went 0 for 2 and walked twice after being activated off the concussion list. The two-time World Series MVP missed 12 games.

The Houston Astros (37-42) open a three-game set in Toronto (38-39) tonight. The Astros took two of three over the weekend against Cleveland and have now won four of their last five to pull within three games of first in the American League West and within two of the final Wild Card spot. Toronto was rained out yesterday in Chicago after splitting the first two games of that series. The Jays have now won four of their last five games and sit 8.5 games in back of the Yankees in the AL East but in that aforementioned third and final Wild Card spot.
Toronto has been solid at home (21–18), while Houston has struggled on the road at 17–21.
The pitching matchup tonight features a pair of staff aces as Hunter Brown takes the ball for the ‘Stros against Dylan Cease of the Jays. Brown will be making his second start for Houston since returning from the disabled list. He is 1–0 with a sparkling 1.10 ERA with 24 strikeouts across just over 16 innings. The Blue Jays were expected to counter with right-hander Shane Bieber, but due to yesterday’s postponement, Bieber has been pushed back a day and Cease will start. This will be Cease’s 14th start of the season. He is 4-3 with a 2.71 ERA and 110 strikeouts (third in MLB).
Houston’s offense centers around their Triple Crown candidate, Yordan Alvarez. The designated hitter ranks fourth in the game with a .322 average, second with 25 home runs, and fifth in baseball with 56 RBIs. Ernie Clement struggled over the weekend but leads the Jays with a .292 average. Kyle Okamoto strikes out about once every three at bats but does damage when he makes contact with a team-leading 16 home runs.
Lets dive into tonight’s matchup and find a sweat or two.

Blue Jays 3 Red Sox 0
It seems weird to get a shutout in a game that the Jays pitchers really didn’t look great
An impromptu bullpen day, with Max Scherzer scratched with back tightness (landing him on the IL), Jays pitchers walked seven and allowed seven hits. You’d imagine one of those baserunners would have come around to score. The Red Sox were 0 for 12 with RISP.
We did get some good defense. Kazuma Okamoto made a couple of terrific plays (two in the eighth in particular) and Vladimir Guerrero had just an excellent night with the glove. Davis Schneider also made an excellent catch in left field.
On the pitching side:

Phillies 5 Blue Jays 2
We knew this was going to be a tough one. Cristopher Sánchez came into the game with a 1.46 ERA and he’s allowed just 1 run in his last 5 starts, covering 38 innings. The most earned runs he’s given up in a game was 2 and, well, we got 2 off him. He went 7 innings allowed 4 hits, 2 earned, 1 walk with 10 strikeouts.
We scored one in the third. Myles Straw doubled and ground outs by Tyler Heineman and Yohendrick Piñango scored him. And in the fifth, Ernie Clement homered.
We had chances. In the sixth, Piñango led off with a double and got to third on an error. But George Springer, Nathan Lukes and Vladimir Guerrero all struck out. And we got two on in the eighth. Ernie Clement singled with one out and Miles Straw walked with two outs. Brandon Valenzuela (pinch hitting) ground one deep into the hole at short, for the third out.
Patrick Corbin had a rough night. 3 innings, 4 hits, 5 earned, 4 walks and 3 strikeouts. He game up two in the second. Bryson Stott doubled and Adolis Garcia homered. And three in the third. Two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases. Alex Bohm singled home one. J.T. Realmuto singled home another. And Bryson Stott walked in the third. They would have had another run but Kazuma Okamoto made a nice play on a grounder and threw home to get the runnner.

Blue Jays 3 Braves 4
That wasn’t Kevin Gausman’s best game. 6 innings, 5 hits, 4 earned, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts and a home run. Of course, when you get 18 outs and 8 of them are strikeouts, it seems like it should be a good game. But, he gave up 2 in the first (a walk, a double and a sac fly), 1 in the third (double and a single) and 1 in the sixth (a Matt Olson home run).
Our bullpen put up two scoreless innings.
On offense, we had 9 hits, with a Kazuma Okamoto two-run home run and a Vladimir Guerrero double. You would think we could have scored more than 3 runs.
We got two hits each from Nathan Lukes, Ernie Clement, Yohendrick Piñango and Okamoto. But then there were 0 fors from George Springer, Daulton Varsho, Andrés Giménez and Brandon Valenzuela. Being 0 for 6 with RISP is a recipe for a loss.