Kazuma Okamoto, Jesus Sanchez hit first Toronto Blue Jays home runs in win over Athletics
Photo credit: https://www.mlb.com/bluejays
George Springer, Jesus Sanchez and Kazuma Okamoto hit homers and Eric Lauer had nine strikeouts as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Athletics 5-2 on Sunday to complete the series sweep.
The Toronto Blue Jays offence rolled from the jump.
George Springer his his 64th career game opening home run, pulling him within 9 of Rickey Henderson for the all time lead.
George Springer now has 64 career leadoff home runs 😮
Lauer (1-0) struck out the side in the opening frame. He allowed three hits, two earned runs and a walk over 5 1/3 innings.
Kazuma Okamoto hit his first career MLB home run Sunday, crushing a ball to right-centre field to extend the Toronto Blue Jays’ lead over the Athletics in the fourth inning.
Facing A’s right-hander Luis Morales, Okamoto jumped all over a 96 MPH fastball and belted it 420 feet into the seats, making it 4-0 for the home side.
A moment Kazuma Okamoto will remember forever 👏
The blast continues Okamoto’s strong start to his MLB career as he came into Sunday’s game 3-for-8 with a pair of walks.
Okamoto slashed .322/.411/.581 with 15 homers and 51 RBI in 77 games last year for the Tokyo-based Giants.
He hit .316 with one home run and four RBI in eight spring training games for Toronto this year.
Meanwhile, outfielder Jesus Sanchez also hit his first Blue Jays home run on Sunday, smoking a two-run 417 foot bomb to centre field in the third inning.
The homer came on a 3-0 fastball from Morales with catcher Tyler Heineman on base.
Welcome to Toronto, Jesús Sánchez! His FIRST Blue Jays home run 👏
Sanchez, 28, was acquired from the Houston Astros in February in exchange for outfielder Joey Loperfido.
He had 14 home runs in 134 games last season split between the Miami Marlins and Astros.
That’s it for the A’s in Toronto this year. Tomorrow night we move on to the Colorado Rockies.
Tomoyuki Sugano will represent the visitors, while Cody Ponce makes his official North American return for the Jays. First pitch goes at 7:07pm ET.
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| POLL | ||
MARS 29|201 ANSWERS Kazuma Okamoto, Jesus Sanchez hit first Toronto Blue Jays home runs in win over Athletics Do you think Kazuma Okamoto and Jesus Sanchez will surprise people this year? | ||
| Yes | 183 | 91 % |
| No | 7 | 3.5 % |
| Too early to tell | 11 | 5.5 % |
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