In nearly every answer he gave after leading the Blue Jays to a 4-2 win over the Athletics on Tuesday at Sutter Health Park, Kazuma Okamoto’s message was clear: Toronto isn’t done yet. While Okamoto acknowledged he met a personal goal by hitting his 30th home run of an impressive rookie season, he continued to point to what comes next: 16 crucial regular-season contests that will determine his club’s postseason fate. With Tuesday’s win, the Blue Jays (73-73) remain one game out of the final American League Wild Card spot. “Definitely, it’s great to get to 30 in my first year, but we’ve still got a few games to go here,” Okamoto said through interpreter Yusuke Oshima. “I want to flip the switch and focus on the games moving forward.” Okamoto is certainly flipping the switch in September, batting .333 (9-for-27) with a 1.009 OPS in seven games during the month. He followed up a 423-foot solo home run in Monday night’s 6-5 walk-off loss with another dinger on Tuesday, going back to back with Josh Smith to begin the second inning. He tied White Sox infielder Munetaka Murakami for the most home runs by AL rookies in 2026, just one behind Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart for the Major League lead.
