{"id":615863,"date":"2026-04-20T04:58:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T04:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/615863\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T04:58:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T04:58:15","slug":"toronto-blue-jays-ride-eight-run-first-inning-to-win-over-arizona-diamondbacks-snapping-four-game-skid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/615863\/","title":{"rendered":"Toronto Blue Jays ride eight-run first inning to win over Arizona Diamondbacks, snapping four-game skid"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHOENIX (AP) \u2014 Kazuma Okamoto hit a solo homer and had three RBIs, Nathan Lukes<\/a> added a three-run double and the Toronto Blue Jays<\/a> used an eight-run first inning to cruise past the Arizona Diamondbacks<\/a> for a 10-4 victory Sunday that prevented a three-game sweep.<\/p>\n

Toronto snapped a four-game losing streak and ended Arizona\u2019s four-game winning streak.<\/p>\n

Ryne Nelson<\/a> (1-2) was rocked for eight runs and got just one out. His season ERA jumped from 3.54 to 6.97.<\/p>\n

The first eight Blue Jays batters reached base on five singles, two doubles and a walk. Nelson finally struck out Brandon Valenzuela, but Lukes followed with a bases-clearing double for an 8-0 lead, ending Nelson\u2019s day after only 30 pitches.<\/p>\n

Toronto starter Kevin Gausman<\/a> (1-1) gave up two runs over six solid innings. He permitted seven hits and a walk while striking out four. Lukes \u2014 who entered the game batting .162 \u2014 finished with three hits.<\/p>\n

Okamoto hit his third homer of the season in the third, smacking Andrew Hoffmann<\/a>\u2019s slider 406 feet over the left-centre wall.<\/p>\n

Arizona\u2019s Ildemaro Vargas<\/a> has hit safety in his first 15 games this season, which extends a franchise record. He has an 18-game hitting streak dating to last season, which is the longest active run in the big leagues.<\/p>\n

Diamondbacks All-Star outfielder Corbin Carroll<\/a> left before the fifth inning because of low back tightness. Jorge Barrosa<\/a> replaced him and hit a two-run homer in the seventh.<\/p>\n

UP NEXT<\/p>\n

The Blue Jays continue their road trip Monday. RHP Dylan Cease<\/a> (0-0, 1.74 ERA) opposes Angels LHP Reid Detmers<\/a> (1-1, 3.57).<\/p>\n

The D-backs are off Monday before continuing their homestand Tuesday. RHP Merrill Kelly<\/a> (1-0, 3.38 ERA) faces White Sox RHP Sean Burke<\/a> (0-2, 4.43).<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP MLB: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/mlb<\/p>\n

David Brandt, The Associated Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOENIX (AP) \u2014 Kazuma Okamoto hit a solo homer and had three RBIs, Nathan Lukes added a three-run…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":615864,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82],"class_list":["post-615863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=615863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615863\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/615864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=615863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=615863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=615863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}