Okamoto’s homer leads Jays to 2-1 win in rubber match with Marlins

TORONTO — Kazuma Okamoto smacked his team-leading 11th homer in the sixth inning to give the Toronto Blue Jays a 2-1 come-from-behind win in the rubber match of their three-game series against the Miami Marlins on Wednesday.

Okamoto’s one-out solo shot off reliever Andrew Nardi (3-3) gave the Blue Jays (27-29) their fourth win of a six-game homestand before a crowd of 42,372 for the matinee at Rogers Centre.

Miami starter Eury Perez cruised through four shutout innings, allowing only three hits with no walks and nine strikeouts. But he suffered a right hamstring spasm while stretching in the dugout between innings and had to be helped back into the Marlins clubhouse.

Michael Petersen relieved Perez. After getting two groundouts in the fifth, he walked Tyler Heineman. The Blue Jays catcher scored on Nathan Lukes double off the centre-field wall.

The Marlins (26-30) took a 1-0 lead on Otto Lopez’s RBI single to centre in the first.

Kevin Gausman got into trouble with a 28-pitch first inning. He lasted four more innings and got to 95 pitches, allowing a run on six hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

Jeff Hoffman (3-3) registered the win, and Tyler Rogers picked up his second save.

Takeaways

Blue Jays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. returned to the lineup after a two-game absence after he was hit by a pitch on the right elbow on Sunday. He hit two loopers for singles in his first two at-bats.

Marlins: Canadians Liam Hicks, Owen Caissie and Lopez are the top three in RBIs on Miami in with 44, 26 and 23, respectively.

Key moment

With one out and the bases loaded, Gausman coaxed Marlins clean-up hitter Kyle Stowers into a third-inning ending double play to keep the Marlins from increasing their 1-0 lead.

Key stat

Lopez went 4-for-4 for his Major League Baseball-leading 22nd multi-hit outing and increased his MLB-best hit total to 75.

Up next

The Blue Jays open a four-game series in Baltimore on Thursday. Lefty Patrick Corbin (2-1) will pitch for Toronto. The Orioles have not named a starter.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2026.


Tim Wharnsby, The Canadian Press