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Instant Reaction: Kazuma Okamoto powers Blue Jays to 7-3 win over Twins
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Photo credit: © Matt Blewett-Imagn Images
Michael Coyle
May 2, 2026, 08:00 EDTUpdated: May 2, 2026, 07:56 EDT
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Kazuma Okamoto is becoming the threat the Toronto Blue Jays envisioned when they signed the Japanese star to a four-year, $60 million contract on January 4th. 
The Blue Jays’ third baseman recorded the first multi-homer game of his big-league career, helping power the Blue Jays to a 7-3 victory on Friday night over the Minnesota Twins. 
Okamoto broke a 2-2 tie in the fourth inning with his first blast of the night, hammering a 3-1 hanging slider from Simeon Woods Richardson to the bleachers in left field. An inning later, following a one-out walk to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Okamoto burned Woods Richardson again, driving a first-pitch splitter 374 feet to left field for his seventh home run of the season. 
After struggling to find consistency through the early portions of the 2026 season, Okamoto has started to find his stride, looking more comfortable with each passing at-bat. On April 17, exactly two weeks ago, Okamoto went 0-for-4, dropping his average to .188 and looking lost against MLB-calibre pitching. 
Since that game, Okamoto is batting .288 with five home runs and 13 RBIs, recording five multi-hit games in the Blue Jays’ past 13 contests. Friday night’s two-homer game extended Okamoto’s team lead in home runs, while the three RBIs pushed the 29-year-old’s total to 18, good for the club lead. 
After a rare Kevin Gausman start where the 35-year-old wasn’t at his best, veteran left-hander Patrick Corbin provided the Blue Jays with another strong showing. The 36-year-old posted a line of 5 1/3 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, with the only damage coming by way of a Byron Buxton two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning. 
Corbin picked up his first win in a Blue Jays uniform, improving his season numbers to a 3.65 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. The 14-year MLB veteran has provided stability at the back of the Blue Jays’ rotation as injuries have plagued many arms on the club through the opening 32 games. 
The Blue Jays’ offence responded after Thursday’s lacklustre showing, seeing Yohendrick Piñango and Lenyn Sosa have their best showings since becoming Blue Jays. Both players picked up three hits in the win, with Piñango recording two RBIs. 
Piñango, who was acquired at the 2024 MLB trade deadline for Nate Pearson, has looked comfortable through the first five games of his big-league career. The 23-year-old is 5-for-10 with three RBIs and has looked like a threat at the plate. Piñango has yet to strike out and has a 33.3 hard hit percentage through the early stages of his career, including two base hits with exit velocities over 107 MPH on Friday. 
The Blue Jays continued their dominance over former prospect Woods Richardson. The 25-year-old has now made four starts against the Blue Jays in his career, posting a record of 0-2, an ERA of 10.26 over his 16 ⅔ innings. Woods Richardson failed to get through five innings, lasting only 4 ⅔, allowing six runs, four earned, on nine hits, pushing the right-hander’s record to 0-5 on the 2026 campaign. 
Braydon Fisher, Jeff Hoffman, Tyler Rogers, and Louis Varland followed Corbin with 3 ⅔ innings of one-run ball, recording six combined strikeouts. Varland, the St. Paul native, made his first appearance in Minnesota, against the team that drafted him, since being acquired by the Blue Jays at last year’s trade deadline. 
After splitting the first two games of the series, the Blue Jays and Twins will meet again on Saturday with first pitch set for 2:10 p.m EST at Target Field. Dylan Cease will get the ball for the Blue Jays, while rookie Connor Prielipp will make his third career start for the Twins. 

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