​SAN DIEGO (AP) — Kazuma Okamoto of the Toronto Blue Jays matched Shohei Ohtani for the most home runs by a Japanese-born rookie in a single major league season, hitting his 22nd on Friday night. The fifth-inning shot came with one out and a 95-mph sinker from reliever Jhony Brito, sending the ball into the left-field seats for a three-run homer that pushed Toronto ahead 5-2.
Ohtani, who previously held the mark, reached 22 while with the Los Angeles Angels in 2018. Now in his third season with the Dodgers, Ohtani belted his 300th career home run on Tuesday night against Michael Lorenzen of Colorado, making him the first Japanese-born player in the majors to reach that milestone.
Okamoto, who is 30, had previously stepped up with his first career grand slam on Wednesday at San Francisco. Through the All-Star break, Okamoto has 22 homers—an achievement that stands as the most by any Blue Jays player since Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s 28 and Marcus Semien’s 22 in 2021, and the most by a Toronto rookie in franchise history.
In other news, fellow Japanese rookie Munetaka Murakami rejoined the Chicago White Sox on Friday after being sidelined for more than a month with a strained right hamstring. He earned a spot on the American League All-Star team and was added to the Home Run Derby field in Philadelphia.
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