Kazuma Okamoto with his first Major League home run! 🎥 Sportsnet | #Bluejays
WATCH: Kazuma Okamoto hits first big league home run
Photo credit: © Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images
Mar 29, 2026, 15:00 EDTUpdated: Mar 29, 2026, 15:15 EDT
Kazuma Okamoto is going to do just fine in Major League Baseball.
In Sunday afternoon’s game against the Athletics, the Toronto Blue Jays third baseman went deep for his first career big league home, traveling a distance of 110.4 mph with a distance of 420 feet.
He had a second opportunity to cash in some runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, as the Blue Jays loaded the bases with one out. Unfortunately, Okamoto grounded into a double play to end the opportunity. Okamoto’s other plate appearance was a fly out in the second inning. In the same game, Jesús Sánchez hit his first home run as a Blue Jay.
It has been a good start for Okamoto, as he got his first career hit out of the way early, reaching on a single in the bottom of the seventh on Friday. Later that game, the third baseman hit a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth and eventually came in to score the game-winning run. Batting seventh in that game, Okamoto went 2-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
The Blue Jays moved Okamoto up to the clean up spot on Saturday, as he went 1-5 with a walk and two strikeouts over six plate appearances. That hit, a single, came in the bottom of the first, but resulted in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. getting thrown out at third. Down by one in the bottom of the ninth, Okamoto struck out looking on a pitch that was outside the zone. Thankfully, Alejandro Kirk hit the game-tying home run two pitches later.
It’s still early into the season, but it appears that the Blue Jays may have found a gem in Okamoto. There were question marks surrounding his defence at third base entering the season, but over 20 innings, he’s already accumulated 1 Defensive Runs Saved. Add in several hits, and it’s been a successful first series for the Japanese player.
Okamoto is seen as Bo Bichette’s replacement after the 28-year-old departed for the New York Mets this past off-season. The early results for the former Blue Jay haven’t been encouraging, notching just one hit and striking out seven times over 12 plate appearances. There’s still plenty of time to turn it around, but with Andrés Giménez moving to shortstop, it looks like the Jays have made the right decision.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.