Blue Jays’ – Down 5-0 early after a brutal Friday loss, the Toronto Blue Jays staged a dramatic turnaround at Wrigley Field. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. tied the game in the eighth on a single off Jacob Webb, Kazuma Okamoto followed with a go-ahead three-run homer, and Louis Var
CHICAGO — For a few minutes in the eighth inning at Wrigley Field on Saturday, the Toronto Blue Jays didn’t just take the lead. They owned the historic ballpark.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ripped a game-tying single off Chicago Cubs reliever Jacob Webb, and the visitors’ dugout erupted with a loud “Let’s Go Blue Jays” chant that rolled through a crowd of 40,706. Myles Straw said he could feel the difference on the field.
“I mean, that’s momentum,” Straw said. “I feel like the pitcher feels it. The Cubs hear it. We feel good about it.”
Then Kazuma Okamoto stepped in and sent the ball over the fence — launching a go-ahead. three-run homer that turned chants into celebration. Okamoto watched it leave the yard. pointed toward his teammates in the visitors’ dugout as he touched first base. and treated the turning point like it had been waiting for him all along.
“I was just praying for the ball to go over the fence there,” Okamoto said through interpreter Yusuke Oshima.
Straw admitted he was cautious at first, even as the mood shifted.
“Honestly, off the bat, I didn’t get too excited too early because I know Chicago is kind of weird with balls in the wind and everything,” said Straw. “But, I mean, when it went out, we were fired up.
“That was probably one of the biggest swings of the season so far.”
The win didn’t come from thin air. It came after the Blue Jays were crushed on Friday by the Cubs, suffering a 16-2 beatdown. On Saturday. Chicago jumped ahead again. building a 5-0 lead with a three-run homer from Matt Shaw off starter Patrick Corbin and a two-run shot from Pete Crow-Armstrong off Lazaro Estrada.
Toronto answered piece by piece. Daulton Varsho belted a three-run shot in the seventh to cut into the Cubs’ lead, then Straw began the eighth-inning rally with a walk. George Springer and pinch-hitter Alejandro Kirk followed with singles before Guerrero Jr. tied the game.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider praised Guerrero Jr.’s at-bats as the game tightened.
“His at bats were pretty good today,” Schneider said of the struggling first baseman. “I thought he was on time and he took some good swings. For a guy that’s been grinding, it’s nice to come through there and tie the game.”
Okamoto added that the comeback came from the right kind of effort throughout the lineup.
“Everyone was grinding and passing the baton,” Okamoto said.
But the eighth inning wasn’t only about Toronto taking over. It was also about preventing the Cubs from flipping the script right back.
Mason Fluharty loaded the bases with none out in the bottom of the inning. forcing Schneider to bring in Louis Varland to face the heart of Chicago’s order. Varland responded immediately: he induced a grounder from Nico Hoerner. struck out Seiya Suzuki. and got Michael Busch to fly out to left field to end the threat.
Varland then followed with a scoreless ninth inning to secure the 8-6 victory.
The timing mattered for Toronto beyond the scoreboard. The Blue Jays improved to 38-39.
“One pitch at a time,” Varland said of his mentality entering the bases-loaded jam.
Schneider described his message to the right-hander.
“It’s a tough ask,” Schneider said. “All I told him was, ‘Hey, we still got a three-run lead, just make pitches.’ And Louis doesn’t budge, man. Limiting the damage there with the ground ball and then the strikeout. He’s been everything we could have asked for and more.”
The drama in Chicago made stars of two players who have been carrying Toronto in different ways this season. Okamoto’s homer was his 16th of the campaign, and despite the Blue Jays hitting just 77 as a team this season, that means Okamoto accounts for 20 per cent of Toronto’s power output.
Varland’s impact has been just as hard to miss. He’s collected 15 saves and allowed only four earned runs over 42 innings for a 0.86 ERA in 2026.
Patrick Corbin, who faced Varland as a hitter, didn’t overcomplicate it.
“One of the best pitchers, best closers in the game,” Corbin said. “You just feel every time he gets the ball, he’s going to get the job done.”
Varland also explained that his approach has changed slightly over the season. He’s pitched more than one inning on 12 occasions in 2026, and he said he’s tapered off some of his throwing between outings.
“I learned a lot from last year, probably overthrew a little bit outside of the game,” Varland said. “So, I made some adjustments here and there in pretty much all aspects. Less is more type of mentality but still checking the boxes in what I need.”
Back in the thick of the pressure, the chants that energized Straw and the Blue Jays didn’t register in Varland the way they did in the visitors watching from the field.
“I mean, I played in the World Series and nothing tops that,” Varland said. “Although it was similar — the crowd was loud but I kinda get tunnel vision and kind of blacked out.”
Toronto Blue Jays Chicago Cubs Kazuma Okamoto Louis Varland Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Wrigley Field Myles Straw Daulton Varsho Jacob Webb Mason Fluharty
Blue Jays really said “nah” after being down 5-0 lol.
Wait I thought Guerrero Jr. plays for like the Yankees now? Or am I mixing him up with someone else. Either way that 3-run homer changed everything apparently.
Okamoto praying for it to go over the fence is wild but also Chicago wind is real, so I get it. Still though, Cubs letting the ball fly that far at Wrigley is kinda embarrassing.
“Let’s Go Blue Jays” chant rolled through the crowd of 40,706… did the Cubs fans just go quiet? lol. Also “Down 5-0 early” reminds me of that game where the bullpen fell apart because of some weird call, but I guess it was just the pitcher Webb? Idk I didn’t even finish reading.