The Toronto Blue Jays scored eight unanswered runs to beat the Chicago Cubs 8-6 on Saturday at Wrigley Field, turning Daulton Varsho's injured-list return and Kazuma Okamoto's late homer into one of their sharper MLB comeback wins of the season.
MLB.com's Blue Jays recap verified the final score, the June 20 date and the setting in Chicago. Toronto trailed 5-0 after six innings before Varsho hit a three-run homer in the seventh and the Blue Jays added five more runs in the eighth.
Varsho Returns With A Three-Run Homer
Varsho was activated from the injured list before the game after missing time with left wrist inflammation. MLB.com reported he made an immediate defensive play in center field, taking a hit away from Nico Hoerner, then supplied the first swing that changed the scoreboard.
With Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on base and Okamoto at first in the seventh, Varsho drove a three-run homer to right field to cut the Cubs' lead to 5-3. It was his first game back, and it gave Toronto life after Cubs starter Colin Rea had held the Blue Jays hitless through four innings and scoreless through six.
The larger roster note is useful. Toronto had already been using a reshaped bench after activating Varsho and Lazaro Estrada and acquiring Luis Urias, moves confirmed in the club's transaction context earlier in the week. Varsho's return gave the Blue Jays an everyday center-field option again, not just one more bat.
Okamoto Caps The Eighth-Inning Push
The comeback moved from possible to real in the eighth. Myles Straw opened with a walk, George Springer singled and Alejandro Kirk came off the bench for a pinch-hit RBI single. Guerrero followed with a game-tying single to center.
Okamoto then put Toronto ahead, sending a fastball into the left-field bleachers with runners aboard. MLB.com described the rookie as a player who had been grinding through the stretch, and the swing gave the Blue Jays an 8-5 lead after they had spent most of the afternoon chasing the game.
The bullpen still had work to do. Starter Patrick Corbin lasted 3 2/3 innings, leaving Toronto to cover more than half the game with a relief group that had been taxed in Friday's 16-2 loss. Lazaro Estrada helped keep the deficit manageable before Louis Varland handled the highest-leverage outs.
Varland entered after Mason Fluharty loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the eighth. The Cubs pushed across one run, but Varland limited the damage and returned for the ninth to close out the 8-6 win.
The verified baseball point is clean: Toronto did not just avoid a second flat day at Wrigley. The Blue Jays got Varsho back, got the decisive swing from Okamoto and turned a five-run deficit into a road win against Chicago.