Okamoto hits tiebreaking homer as Blue Jays beat Marlins

TORONTO (AP) — Kazuma Okamoto hit a tiebreaking home run in the sixth inning and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Miami Marlins 2-1 on Wednesday.

Jeff Hoffman (3-3) got four outs for the win as the Blue Jays won for the eighth time in 12 games. Tyler Rogers finished for his second save in four chances.

Otto Lopez went 4 for 4 with an RBI, but the Marlins lost their second straight after winning the previous four.

Miami put runners at first and second with nobody out against Louis Varland in the eighth but couldn’t score. Jakob Marsee grounded into a fielder’s choice, then got caught stealing second as Connor Norby struck out.

Okamoto connected off left-hander Andrew Nardi (3-3), his 11th homer of the season. He hadn’t gone deep since May 5 at Tampa Bay.

The home run came in Okamoto’s first plate appearance after being hit by a 97 mph pitch from Miami's Eury Pérez.

After Pérez hit Okamoto, he appeared to stare into Toronto’s dugout. Blue Jays manager John Schneider yelled at Pérez, but the situation did not escalate.

Pérez set a season-high by striking out nine in four shutout innings but exited after his right hamstring spasmed while he was stretching in the dugout.

Pérez allowed three hits, all singles, and walked none.

Michael Petersen replaced Pérez but couldn’t hold a 1-0 lead. Tyler Heineman drew a two-out walk and scored on Nathan Lukes' double.

Toronto’s Kevin Gausman allowed one run and six hits in five innings.

Lopez hit an RBI single in the first, but the Marlins didn’t score again.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. returned after missing two games because of a sore right elbow. Guerrero was hit by a pitch Sunday.

Up next

Marlins: RHP Max Meyer (5-0, 2.52 ERA) is scheduled to start at New York on Friday against Mets RHP Freddy Peralta (3-4, 3.52).

Blue Jays: LHP Patrick Corbin (2-1, 3.86 ERA) is expected to start at Baltimore on Thursday. The Orioles had not named a starter.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb