Blue Jays a big hit in Minny, but George Springer gets hit on big toe he recently fractured

For the third time in six at-bats, Kazuma Okamoto launched a ball for a solo blast

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Published May 02, 2026  •  Last updated 15 minutes ago  •  4 minute read

Blue Jays batter George Springer is checked by a medical trainer and manager John Schneider after getting hit by a pitch on the foot against the Twins during the third inning at Target Field in Minneapolis, Saturday, May 2, 2026. Photo by David Berding /Getty Images

Nothing, it seems, has gone right for veteran George Springer, an unwitting victim whose left big toe has twice been the topic of conversation.

In each case, it involved the Minnesota Twins.

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Go figure.

When the Twins were in town last month, Springer took a foul tip off his toe.

It was later diagnosed as a fracture, prompting the Blue Jays to move Springer to the IL.

In his return Wednesday, he immediately recorded a hit in an 8-1 win over the visiting Boston Red Sox in the series’ rubber match.

Additional hits in the first two games played at Target Field would follow before Springer took another hit.

This one involved the same toe he fractured.

During Saturday’s third inning, Springer was hit by a pitch on the toe by Twins starter Connor Prielipp that sent a protective foot shield flying.

Springer was in obvious pain.

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Jesus Sanchez replaced Springer, who missed 18 games following the foul tip he took off his foot on April 11.

There’s bad luck and then there’s this incredibly horrible set of events Springer has been forced to endure.

One might ask why the Jays would insert a left-handed bat in Sanchez to face the lefty-throwing Prielipp.

Of the club’s available bench players, none hit right-handed.

Keep in mind Alejandro Kirk, Addison Barger and Nathan Lukes remain on the injured list.

Springer eventually rejoined his teammates in the dugout.

The following are three takeaways on a day the Jays’ bats exploded for four home runs en route to an 11-4 win.

1. Inevitable First

Dylan Cease wasn’t about to go much longer by avoiding the long ball.

The hard-throwing right-hander has given up some hard contact in his previous six starts heading into Saturday.

In his seventh start, Cease gave up his first home run of the season, a leadoff blast to Byron Buxton no less.

When Cease began the seventh inning, he joined Kevin Gausman as the lone starters on Toronto’s staff to pitch in the seventh inning.

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Fittingly, he led off the seventh by recording his seventh strikeout.

By this point, the Jays were out of challenges after catcher Brandon Valenzuela felt Cease had thrown a strike.

The ABS challenge system showed the pitch just barely landed outside the zone.

The kid did make amends by going deep on a three-run blast to cap off an eight-run eighth inning.

For Cease, the seven complete innings represented his longest of the season.

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2. Power Play

A couple of hitters not many would associate as power bats stepped up for the Blue Jays in the second inning.

Myles Straw, if you may recall, was a complete afterthought when the Jays made the trade with the Cleveland Guardians as Toronto added to its international signing bonus pool space.

In his first season with the Jays last year, Straw became one of many interchangeable pieces the Jays would use.

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This season, Straw has filled in for Springer, starting in right field and hitting leadoff on occasion.

Saturday, he went deep for his second homer of the season.

This was no ordinary dinger as Straw sent the ball into the second deck.

Two hitters earlier, Lenyn Sosa, who started at second base, launched his first long ball with the Blue Jays.

Sosa was acquired last month in a trade with the Chicago White Sox to address the many injuries the Jays were facing.

Sosa’s softly hit ground ball would give the Jays a 5-4 lead, becoming one of five players to knock in at least two runs in the rout.

Blue Jays’ Kazuma Okamoto rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Twins in the seventh inning at Target Field in Minneapolis, Saturday, May 2, 2026. Photo by David Berding /Getty Images

3. Great Eight!

When it comes to power, Kazuma Okamoto has no peer, at least when it comes to his teammates.

At this rate, the Japanese star is profiling as a big bat, perhaps even prodigious for those thinking very big.

For the third time in six at-bats, Okamoto launched a ball for a solo blast in the sixth inning.

This was an epic blast, a 453-foot moonshot that eclipsed any homer hit by the Jays this season.

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Okamoto’s eight home runs are twice as many as any other Blue Jay.

If his recent at-bats are any indication, he has clearly assimilated to big-league baseball.

He went deep twice in Friday’s 7-3 win.

In the eighth inning of Saturday’s game, Okamoto stepped up to the plate with none out and runners at first and second.

He took a wicked hack for strike two and then took a pitch to force a full count.

Okamoto then knocked in his 20th run of the season when he sent a ball up the middle to score Ernie Clement as the Jays tied the game.

Toronto did catch a break when Okamoto’s grounder went off the glove of Twins second baseman Luke Keaschall.

Up Next

Trey Yesavage is scheduled to make his second start of the season in Sunday’s series finale. In his debut, the right-hander looked pretty good in providing the Jays with 5.1 shutout innings against the BoSox. Yesavage surrendered four hits and recorded three strikeouts in his 74-pitch outing. More importantly, the Jays won the game 3-0 as Yesavage earned the win … The Blue Jays are assured of a series split in Minny, but a win Sunday and the Jays will run their series win streak to four straight.

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