Blue Jays Okamoto ties Ohtani's 22-home-run rookie record

Toronto Blue Jays rookie Kazuma Okamoto tied a significant Major League Baseball record on Friday night, hitting his 22nd home run of the season to match the single-season mark for Japan-born rookies set by Shohei Ohtani. Okamoto's three-run blast powered the Blue Jays to a 5-3 victory over the San Diego Padres in San Diego.

The historic homer came in the fifth inning with one out, on a 95 mph sinker from Padres reliever Jhony Brito. The shot, which traveled an estimated 377 feet into the left-field seats, scored Ernie Clement and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and broke a 2-2 tie. The Blue Jays added another run in the inning to secure the win, snapping a three-game losing streak while handing the Padres their 11th loss in 14 games.

Okamoto, a 30-year-old rookie, acknowledged the significance of matching Ohtani's record, which was set in 2018 when Ohtani was with the Los Angeles Angels. He said through a translator that while Ohtani is an "awesome player" and a "unicorn," he hopes to continue working to get closer to that level. Ohtani, now with the Los Angeles Dodgers, hit his 300th career home run earlier this week, becoming the first Japan-born player to reach that milestone.