TORONTO -- That’s what the odd Blue Jays win is supposed to feel like, smooth, steady and confident.
In the middle of such a chaotic start to their 2026 season, these are also the types of wins the Blue Jays need more of, led by an offense that controlled the game with its own identity instead of chasing it. There was nothing overwhelming about Saturday’s 5-3 victory over the Guardians, but that’s the beauty of it.
This is what mattered most:
1. OKAMOTO’S UP
One day after launching a 430-foot home run off the Flight Deck in center field, Kazuma Okamoto did again Saturday, this time 425 feet into the section that sits high above the batter’s eye in center field.
“That’s a big boy homer,” manager John Schneider said.
Make it three home runs in the past six games for Okamoto, who looks far more comfortable at the plate one month into the season. We’re starting to see Okamoto fully unleash his swing and tap into the strength of his lower body and core, which he wasn’t doing as consistently earlier in the season. This is the version of Okamoto that hit 30-plus home runs in six consecutive seasons in Japan with the Yomiuri Giants, and he’s fully capable of hitting that number in the big leagues.
Okamoto later singled and took a walk with the bases loaded. Pair those with a sharp defensive play at third base earlier in the game and this was one of Okamoto’s best all-around days in the big leagues.
Schneider has been noticeably firm in his stance on Okamoto, defending the Japanese star whenever questions have come about his early struggles. Schneider has said it’s “unfair” to hold him to the standard he set in Japan right away in the big leagues, but has preached patience while Okamoto adjusts to his new league and everything that comes with it. Friday and Saturday, we saw exactly why.
“He’s going to hit. I’m going to say that for the entire time he’s here because he has tremendous skills,” Schneider said Friday. “I think he has an understanding of how he’s being hit. You don’t see a lot of balls go up in the [Flight Deck]. He’s got a ton of raw power.”
2. NEW NINTH: Varland survives
This was their first shot at a save situation since removing Jeff Hoffman from the closer’s role, and it lined up exactly how they Blue Jays hoped:
7th: Mason Fluharty takes over for Kevin Gausman (0.1 IP, K)
8th: Tyler Rogers (1 IP, K)
9th: Louis Varland (1 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, BB, K, Save)
Varland is the most important piece in all of this, because outside of the Padres’ Mason Miller, Varland has been one of the best relievers in the sport this season. If José Ramírez had been due up in the eighth inning instead, the Blue Jays could have used Varland earlier to target the heart of the Guardians’ lineup, then turned to Rogers or Braydon Fisher in the ninth.
Nightly, this will begin with one big question: How can the Blue Jays get Varland in for the most important outs of the game? Tonight, those came in the ninth.
Varland’s first shaky inning of the season showed once again, though, that the ninth inning is simply a different monster.
“Louis has the mentality to do that. He’s got great numbers,” Schneider said. “It’s not going to be perfect and it’s not going to be perfect for anyone, so I hope people have a little bit of sympathy for Hoffman. This is not easy. It’s not a slam dunk by any means.”
3. WONDERFULLY NORMAL: Kevin Gausman
The Blue Jays would take Gausman’s outing 162 times a season, and they’d do it with a smile. Gausman allowed two runs over 6 2/3 innings, and while he wasn’t mowing down hitters (3 K), he kept control over the game and gave the Blue Jays exactly what they needed, which was a very “normal” start.
Too often lately, the Blue Jays have been forced to deal with the abnormal. Whether it’s been Eric Lauer’s shorter outings, the opener or Max Scherzer’s struggles, these days have put the Blue Jays’ bullpen in a constant state of scrambling and recovering. Gausman knows how to dominate when the moment calls for it, but he also knows exactly how to be the steady hand. This may not have been Gausman at his “best”, but it was Gausman at his most necessary.