The Lead

Okamoto's Go-Ahead Single Lifts Jays To Third Straight Win

Kazuma Okamoto's eighth-inning single drove home Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for the go-ahead run as the Blue Jays beat the Red Sox 6-4 on Wednesday, their third straight win. Tyler Rogers picked up the win in relief and Louis Varland closed it out for his 26th save, with Ernie Clement, Myles Straw and George Springer all driving in runs.

Toronto sits 2 1/2 games back of Texas for the final American League wild-card spot, and a win built on situational hitting late plus a bullpen that survived a rocky ninth from Matt Waldron is exactly the kind of week that keeps a fringe contender alive into September. The next test is whether that same relief group can hold a lead from the sixth inning on, not just clean up after it gets thin.

The Rest of the Slate

National Bank Open

Ben Shelton beat Jakub Mensik 6-3, 6-1 in Wednesday's semifinal before topping Learner Tien to reach the men's final against Brandon Nakashima. Elena Rybakina ousted Coco Gauff to reach the women's final against Iga Swiatek, putting both National Bank Open titles up for grabs in Canada Thursday.

NBA

The Lakers agreed to a sale to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger worth $12.5 billion US, the second record-setting NBA franchise sale in the past year. Each new number resets the valuation bar for every North American sports franchise waiting on its own ownership transition.

The Number

Consecutive losses for the Toronto Tempo after Wednesday's 94-88 defeat to the Wings An expansion team's early struggles are expected, but a skid this long this deep into the season starts to say more about roster depth than schedule difficulty. Watch how the front office uses the rest of August, because a losing streak of this length usually forces at least one roster move before it snaps.

What's On Tonight

            3:07 PM ET · Blue Jays vs. Red Sox · Rogers Centre
Thursday afternoon · National Bank Open Men's Final: Ben Shelton vs. Brandon Nakashima · Montreal
Thursday night · National Bank Open Women's Final: Iga Swiatek vs. Elena Rybakina · Toronto
Thursday · FedEx St. Jude Championship, Round 1 · Memphis
          

Top Dog — Betting Angle

The pick: Blue Jays on the run line tonight against Boston. Toronto has won three straight and the bullpen has held up behind Varland, giving them the edge to cover a modest spread against the same opponent.

“A wild-card race gets decided in innings, not headlines”