How Blue Jays' Kazuma Okamoto is connected to Rockies' Tomoyuki Sugano

In a league full of competitors, some former teammates occasionally receive the opportunity to match up against one another. 

That was the case for Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Kazuma Okamoto and Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano on Monday night at the Rogers Centre.

The pair were teammates for 10 seasons with Nippon Professional Baseball's Yomiuri Giants. Sugano struck out Okamoto swinging in the bottom of the second, but the right-handed slugger drew a walk in the fifth -- a failed ABS challenge from Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman. 

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Former teammates of 10 years with the Yomiuri Giants, Kazuma Okamoto and Tomoyuki Sugano go head-to-head at Rogers Centre ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/1jUnbt8BRy

Okamoto and Sugano shared the international stage too, representing Japan at this year's World Baseball Classic. After spending last season with the Baltimore Orioles as a 35-year-old rookie, Sugano signed a one-year, $5.1 million contract with the Rockies during the offseason. 

Okamoto, a former three-time Central League home run leader, inked a much more elaborate four-year, $60 million pact with the Blue Jays. This will be the only time the AL and NL clubs meet in 2026, so the ex-teammates will have to wait another year to face off again. 

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