Okamoto homers, Gausman in form as Blue Jays defeat Guardians 5-3

TORONTO – Top prospect Trey Yesavage showed the hype was real when he made his big-league debut late last season. 

Now the Toronto Blue Jays starter is ready to return to the rotation and try to pick up where he left off.

After spending the first month of the season on the injured list with a right shoulder impingement, Yesavage is set to be activated ahead of his season debut on Tuesday against the Boston Red Sox. 

“We’re making sure that once we hit go, we don’t hit pause,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “He checked all of the boxes that we had hoped for.”

His return can’t come soon enough for the Blue Jays, who have struggled out of the gate after winning the American League title last year. 

A 5-3 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday — with starter Kevin Gausman throwing 6 2/3 quality innings — left the club with a record of 11-15. 

“Pitching into the seventh pretty efficiently today, it just makes everything easier,” Schneider said. “Not only for the game that he’s starting, but for the next day too.”

Yesavage was a sensation last fall after making his debut in mid-September. With just three regular-season starts under his belt, he fanned 11 in his first playoff start.

The right-hander topped that in the World Series with a dominant performance in a Game 5 win in Los Angeles, striking out 12 Dodgers over seven dominant innings.

“Getting him here with a little adrenalin and getting him going will be a good thing for him and a good thing for us,” Schneider said.

He’ll be a welcome addition to a pitching staff that has dealt with injury woes in recent weeks. Shane Bieber (elbow), Jose Berrios (elbow), Yimi Garcia (elbow) are still building up and Cody Ponce (knee) will likely miss the rest of the season.

Gausman and Dylan Cease have anchored the rotation this season. Veteran Max Scherzer has been ineffective and left-hander Eric Lauer has been moved to the bullpen. 

Toronto had to sign veteran southpaw Patrick Corbin to provide some depth. He was tabbed to start Sunday’s series finale against the Guardians. 

Kazuma Okamoto hit a solo homer in Toronto’s win on Saturday, launching a no-doubt blast in the fourth inning. The Blue Jays chased Cleveland starter Joey Cantillo in a three-run sixth.

In his first ninth-inning opportunity since Jeff Hoffman was removed from the closer role, Louis Varland survived a nervy frame before picking up his second save. 

Varland gave up a run before striking out Brayan Rocchio — his second straight K — with the bases loaded to end it.

“I thought Lou did a really good job of settling down and getting those two strikeouts,” Schneider said.

Daulton Varsho drove in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with the go-ahead run in the sixth and Andres Gimenez added a two-run double on a ball that landed on the foul line in the left-field corner.

Gausman (2-1), who gave up a solo homer to David Fry, allowed two earned runs and six hits while striking out three.

“I’m happy with my ability to throw strikes right now and not walk guys,” Gausman said. “Because when I can do that, I think I can go deep in the game and that’s what we need right now.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 25, 2026.