MINNEAPOLIS — John Schneider, hitting coach David Popkins and assistant Lou Iannotti sat inside the visiting clubhouse at Target Field and talked deep into the night after Thursday night’s 7-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins.
A year ago, the Toronto Blue Jays developed a clear offensive identity that was pivotal to their success, but carrying it over to this season has been difficult so far between the injuries, roster churn and some early struggles. “The more consistently we can kind of play in sync, one through nine, one through 13, whatever it is,” the manager explained, “the better off we're going to be.”
“Everyone kind of knew what they were doing — this guy's going to grind, this guy's going to make contact, this guy we want to slug,” Schneider added later. “We're still sorting through that, really, to be honest with you and the domino effect of not having guys, it leads to some guys trying to do things that they're not great at or do too much. It's a constant thing we talk about every day. The important thing is figuring out that now. Yeah, you can dream of what it looks like when you get Lukey (Nathan Lukes) and (Addison) Barger and (Alejandro) Kirk and whoever back. You've got to figure out everyone, really, and how they fit with one another.”
Within that context, Kazuma Okamoto’s latest big night, going deep in the fourth and fifth innings for his first multi-homer game in the majors during Friday’s 7-3 romp over the Twins, is an important development.
His first homer, a solo shot on a slider in the fourth off Simeon Woods Richardson, restored a Blue Jays lead after Byron Buxton’s two-run drive in the third off Patrick Corbin had tied the game 2-2. His second one, on a first-pitch splitter from the former Blue Jays prospect, followed a six-pitch walk by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and opened up a 6-2 lead.
In recent weeks, they’ve missed both Barger’s pop and Kirk’s disciplined, pitch-eating patience and contact in the middle of the lineup. Okamoto’s power coming around after a period of struggle can help cover for that, as well as backfill for the production that left with Bo Bichette in free agency.
“It's a really good lineup and I’m just part of it,” Okamoto said through interpreter Yusuke Oshima. “My mentality just is to just pass the baton, make sure that I'm not ending the inning, ending a rally, just making sure I pass the baton off to the next batter.”
He did more than just that Friday, narrowly missing a third homer in the ninth – “I didn't have my pre-game quesadilla today, I think if I would have had that, it would have been a home run," he quipped – but it can’t be him alone.
And in the Blue Jays’ eighth win in the last 12 outings, the synchronicity Schneider described was right there alongside him.
Yohendrick Pinango, continuing to impress since being promoted after Lukes’ injury, got the ball rolling for the Blue Jays in the second on a chopper to first with runners on second and third and the infield drawn in. Josh Bell fielded the ball and threw home but wide, pulling catcher Victor Caratini into the basepath, where he collided with Daulton Varsho, who scored easily, with Lenyn Sosa following in behind him.
There was no need for fullback-style scoring on RBI singles from Pinango in the fourth and the seventh, and the rookie outfielder added another single in the fifth for a three-hit outing. Sosa also had three hits as the Blue Jays paired knocks with slug, a combination they’ve been trying to find more often.
Corbin, meanwhile, made the offence work, continuing to be the type of pitcher every team needs “stepping in who you weren't really counting on to stabilize you for a little bit,” said Schneider. He allowed two runs on six hits, one the Buxton homer, and a walk over 5.1 innings before a significantly pro-Blue Jays crowd of 19,762, and the team is now 4-1 in his five starts.
“Just trying to go out there, keep us in games,” said Corbin. “This offence is good enough, keep them in striking distance, that's all you could ask for. I'd like to maybe try to go a little deeper, but sometimes it's a close game and bullpen's been so good, you can rely on those guys. But anytime you come out of a game with a lead, or it's close within a run or two, with this team, you've got a chance. Just try to do that every time I take the ball.”
Okamoto’s played a big role in helping take advantage of such outings from Corbin and others over the last two weeks, going 13-for-45 with five homers and 14 RBIs over his last 13 games. In the 12 games previous, he was just 6-for-45 with one RBI and 14 strikeouts, benefitting from some adjustments to better cover the outer half of the plate and handle velocity.
He said spending time “reflecting after every game and seeing where and how I can improve,” has led to some of the better results. Joining a handful of teammates for early hitting on the field with Popkins every day has helped him “get used to the scenery and the batter's eye and stuff, has been a huge help, I feel, and I'd like to continue doing that.”
The Blue Jays want him to continue having outings like Friday, when the full array of his abilities at the plate is on display.
Schneider described Okamoto’s “skill-set (as) hit the ball hard, hit some homers and then put the ball and play with two strikes, so it's not like an all-or-nothing, sellout we want you to slug,” he said. That comes with getting yourself into good counts. But he has the ability to manoeuvre the barrel, too.”
An ideal fit for a Blue Jays lineup still seeking to find this year’s version of last year’s synch.
3:13