Kazuma Okamoto strikes out four times in his worst game with the Jays

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In a stunning turn of events, the Blue Jays were that close to winning — haven’t we heard that before? —only to lose.

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Of greater concern was the health of starting catcher Alejandro Kirk, who left the game with one out in the 10th inning with an apparent left-hand injury.

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It didn’t look good.

Enter Tyler Heineman, whose throwing error led to the tying run.

Manitoba native Tristan Peters singled to cash in the winning run as the Chicago White Sox somehow won their home opener, 5-4.

The Jays were sloppy and also lucky when they appeared to push across the winning run in the top half of the 10th inning on a throwing error by the White Sox.

It was unfortunate for Heineman to be thrust into the situation with so much on the line.

Equally unfortunate was how quiet Toronto’s bats were for much of the game and how uneven their play was against yet another inferior opponent.

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Three games against the A’s, three against the Rockies and one game against the Pale Holes and the Jays are 4-3, losers of two straight.

Not good, but the biggest concern involves Kirk.

The following are three takeaways on a day the Jays played their third extra-inning game of the season.

1. Bo who?

In fairness, not many fans of the Blue Jays will forget the impact Bo Bichette had during his time in Toronto.

His early days in New York with the Mets featured the home crowd booing Bichette.

No such boos for Andres Gimenez, whose clutch two-run home run in the eighth inning drew the Jays even with the host White Sox.

The Gimenez belt bumped his RBI total to a club-leading seven.

His homer was only the third hit on the afternoon for the visitors.

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It also saved the Jays from further embarrassment, one game after Toronto generated all of one run in an extra-innings loss to Colorado in the series rubber match.

In the 10th inning, Gimenez struck out on a check swing.

2. Cease and Desist

Dylan Cease spent five seasons on the South Side of Chicago when the White Sox were good and featured one of the best starting rotations in baseball.

For the second time in his career (the first came as a member of the San Diego Padres), the righty faced his former team.

Not as electric as Cease was in his Blue Jays debut against the Athletics, he did himself no favour when he failed to properly cover the bag at first base as the White Sox got on the board first.

Only one hard-hit ball was yielded in the early innings, but a couple of infield hits and three stolen bases, including a double steal executed by the Pale Holes, were the catalysts in a 3-1 Chicago lead.

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Cease didn’t exactly control the strike zone, either, resulting in his pitch count increasing.

His body language underscored his frustration.

Through four innings, 81 pitches were tossed, five hits surrendered, including a bunt single in the fourth, and six strikeouts recorded.

Of greater importance was the two-run deficit the Jays were facing.

Let’s be clear, Cease wasn’t the lone culprit, but compared to his 12-strikeout debut, start No. 2 was underwhelming.

At the same time, his nasty slider and elevated heater were unhitable.

In his debut, Cease pitched into the sixth inning.

Friday, he pitched into the fifth inning.

A step back, compounded by the three walks Cease would issue.

3. Let’s Rate the Japanese Stars

At Chicago’s Rate Field, some of Japan’s best-known players not named Shohei Ohtani, who will be in Toronto next week along with the two-time reigning champion L.A. Dodgers, were on opposing sides of the diamond.

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Kazuma Okamoto, who entered the afternoon having recorded at least one hit in the Jays’ opening six games, and Munetaka Murakami were in the spotlight.

While Okamoto has shown his chops at the plate, he has not delivered with the bases loaded.

And yes, it is a very small sample size.

Defensively, one could quibble in how Okamoto hesitated to cover third on a stolen base attempt Chicago would execute and how, perhaps, he should have let a bunt down the line to continue its path before fielding it.

Either way, Okamoto wasn’t as sharp in the field as he was in Toronto.

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At the plate, Okamoto struck out twice when he stepped up to the plate in the seventh inning with two outs and no one on base.

He chased a high fastball out of the zone for his third whiff of the game.

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Murakami led off the home half of the seventh.

He faced Brendon Little, who has shown signs of improvement.

Little got Murakami on a called third strike to end the inning.

Okamoto struck out for the fourth time when he swung through a pitch in the ninth inning with a runner in scoring position.

Murakami was intentionally walked in the ninth inning with first base open.

In the 10th, he came off the bag at first base as the Jays scored the winning run on a throwing error charged to third baseman Miguel Vargas.

Up Next

The second game of this three-game series would have featured Eric Lauer on the mound for the Jays, but the lefty is feeling under the weather; Jays hadn’t announced Saturday’s starter.

fzicarelli@postmedia.com

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