Blue Jays blank Mariners behind Cease as Okamoto earns Rookie of the Month

SEATTLE – Recognition of a strong June, during which he posted a .913 OPS with seven homers and 20 RBIs, arrived for Kazuma Okamoto on Friday morning, when he was named the American League’s Rookie of the Month. 

He’s the first Toronto Blue Jays player to pick up the award since Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in July 2018 and his 19 homers so far this season are already the fifth-most by a rookie in team history. Combined with the way he’s acclimated to third base, he’s delivering as expected at the plate and beyond that in the field.

“He’s adjusted very well offensively and I think that the defensive part kind of gets put on the back burner because of the homers and the RBIs, but he’s been really damn good,” said manager John Schneider. “We always talk about him adjusting to pitches and pitch shapes and seeing guys he’s never seen, but he’s also adjusted really well to the speed of the game and understanding when he needs to be quick, when he needs to be slow and then just where he needs to be. He’s been everything we’d hoped for and a little bit more.”

The 30-year-old isn’t settling for what he’s accomplished to this point, either, saying through interpreter Yusuke Oshima that, “I still think I could be even better, just knowing myself.”

“Obviously came over here to the major-leagues to test myself and challenge myself,” he continued. “But knowing my abilities, I think I’ve got another gear.”

The Blue Jays can certainly use that, especially as they wait for their collective lineup to get out of neutral, a challenge that continues even after a 2-0 win over the Seattle Mariners. 

An Andres Gimenez RBI double and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. run-scoring single in the second inning were all they could muster in the opener of this ALCS rematch, but an overpowering Dylan Cease made that standup for the team’s eighth victory when scoring just two runs.

“Our mindset is score as many runs as we can, of course, but I just want to talk about the pitching,” Guerrero, in comments interpreted by Hector Lebron, said of winning with so few runs. “The pitching was great tonight, it’s been great, not just the starters but also the bullpen after that.”

Rebounding from an erratic outing last time out, when he struck out 10 but walked a season-high five while not escaping the fifth against Texas, Cease allowed only three hits and a walk over seven shutout innings against the Mariners, striking out nine.

Of his efficient 102 pitches, 70 were strikes, and his stuff was so hard to track that Randy Arozarena challenged two called strikes in his first at-bat, only to see both were clear strikes, costing the Mariners their challenges in their second at-bat of the contest.

He was only in trouble once, when Cole Young and Victor Robles singled to open the third, but used a changeup to induce a double-play ball from rookie Colt Emerson, and after a walk to J.P. Crawford, got Arozarena on a groundout to second to end the frame.

Cease credited “a slight mechanical tweak,” tied to his sightlines when he peeks at third in his delivery, for the improved performance, as “once I felt comfortable with that, it was just letting the rhythm of everything take over.”

“I didn’t feel like I really got in a great rhythm until probably the fourth,” he added. “I didn’t really power the ball ’til a little later in the game when I really felt comfortable in my mechanics.”

Jeff Hoffman handled the eighth and Louis Varland took care of the ninth for his 18^th save, keeping the Blue Jays bullpen in good standing after an off-day. It was a much better ending than the last time they played at T-Mobile Park, when the Mariners rallied from a 2-1 deficit with a five-run eighth on a Cal Raleigh solo shot and Eugenio Suarez for a 6-2 win that put them up 3-2 in the ALCS.

“I was not in a good mood last time I was in this office, I can tell you that, in the post-season,” Schneider said. “New season, for sure. But whenever you walk into a place, you’re like, all right, what was I doing last time I was here? And there was some furniture rearrangement by me last time we were here before we hit the bird. They got it back in order, though. It’s good. … Nothing broke, nothing crazy. I helped with the cleanup, too. I was raised well.”

Okamoto had a single in four trips with a pair of rockets to the outfield as he continues to post for the Blue Jays.

While they believed in both his bat and his glove when they signed him, they were less certain what they had in him defensively as he split time at both infield corners in Japan. The plan was for Addison Barger to get some time at third, too, but his injury woes removed him from the mix, leaving Okamoto to play there every day. 

Friday was his 82^nd game at the hot corner and he’s logged 727 innings there, third-most in the majors, underlining his durability. Last year with the NPB’s Yomiuri Giants, he played 54 games at third and hasn’t played this much there since playing 84 games there in 2023. 

Had he not handled the transition on both sides of the ball as well as has, this season filled with improvisation would have been even more complicated for the Blue Jays.

“It’s hard to evaluate myself, not just defensively, but also offensively, I just want to continue to get better,” said Okamoto. “Obviously I’m making adjustments because the other teams are always scouting me, as well. There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes, but don’t want to give much away.”

Three months into his first big-league season, he needn’t worry about that.