Okamoto leads Blue Jays past Royals 4-3 to pull into tie for final AL wild card

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 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 3-3 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.

Blue Jays starter Max Scherzer pitched 5 2/3 innings, giving up three runs and five hits with two strikeouts and a walk. Mason Fluharty (6-1) worked a hitless inning in relief and closer Louis Varland got three outs for his 33rd save of the season.

Seth Lugo allowed three runs and eight hits in five innings for Kansas City. Craig Kimbrel (1-3) took the loss.

John Rave hit a solo homer for the Royals that tied it 3-3 in the fourth. Jac Caglianone and Salvador Perez each had an RBI single in the first to pull Kansas City even at 2. Caglianone exited in the third with left elbow soreness.

The Jays and Guardians, both with 72-71 records, lead the Texas Rangers by two games, the Baltimore Orioles by three and the Minnesota Twins by 3 1/2.

The Rangers lost 6-3 in 10 innings to the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday, while the Orioles were blanked 5-0 by the visiting Boston Red Sox. The Twins beat the host Chicago White Sox 6-4.

UP NEXT

Royals RHP Randy Dobnak (2-3, 2.65 ERA) will pitch the series finale Sunday. Toronto had not announced a scheduled starter.

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Cody Friesen, The Associated Press