TORONTO (Interstat) — The Toronto Blue Jays edged the Miami Marlins 2-1 on Wednesday afternoon at Rogers Centre, using Kazuma Okamoto’s solo home run in the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie and secure the series win before 42,372 fans in a brisk 2 hours, 55 minutes.

Miami struck first in the opening inning. Xavier Edwards led off with a double down the right-field line, his 11th of the season. After Liam Hicks popped out, Otto Lopez singled to center, scoring Edwards and giving the Marlins a 1-0 lead. Lopez stole second but was stranded as Kyle Stowers struck out and Jakob Marsee was called out on strikes.

Toronto starter Yariel Rodriguez matched zeros over the next three innings, but the Marlins continued to threaten. In the third, Edwards walked, Hicks walked and Lopez singled to load the bases with one out. Stowers grounded into a double play to end the inning. In the fourth, Connor Norby was hit by a pitch, Owen Caissie singled and Christopher Morel struck out before Graham Pauley popped out.

Miami starter Ryan Weathers worked efficiently early, allowing just two hits through the first four innings. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled in the first and fourth but was left on base each time. Weathers struck out five and walked one before exiting after four innings.

The Blue Jays broke through in the fifth against reliever Michael Petersen. Tyler Heineman walked with one out, and Nathan Lukes doubled to right-center, scoring Heineman to tie the game 1-1. After an intentional walk to Guerrero Jr., Daulton Varsho was called out on strikes to end the inning.

The decisive moment came in the sixth. With one out, Okamoto crushed a 1-0 pitch from Petersen to right-center field for his 11th homer of the season, giving Toronto a 2-1 lead. Okamoto’s blast came after George Springer had grounded out to start the inning. Yohendrick Piñango struck out and Ernie Clement flew out to end the frame.

The Marlins mounted threats in the late innings but could not push across the tying run. In the seventh, Morel singled, but Pauley struck out. Edwards then singled to put runners at first and second, but Hicks struck out. In the eighth, Lopez singled and Stowers singled to put runners at first and second with no outs. Marsee grounded into a force out, and Norby struck out looking during a double steal attempt that saw Marsee caught stealing second to end the inning.

Toronto’s bullpen held firm. Jeff Hoffman, who entered in the sixth, retired the side in order in the seventh and worked around a single in the eighth. Tyler Rogers pitched a perfect ninth, striking out two, to earn his second save of the season. Hoffman improved to 3-3, while Andrew Nardi, who pitched a scoreless seventh, fell to 3-3.

Despite outhitting Toronto 11-5, Miami stranded nine runners and went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Edwards led the Marlins with a 3-for-3 day, including a double, a walk and a run scored. Lopez added three singles and drove in the only run. Heriberto Hernández, pinch-hitting in the sixth, singled but was caught stealing third. Christopher Morel went 1-for-3 with a single. Kyle Stowers went 1-for-4, and Owen Caissie had one hit.

For Toronto, Okamoto’s homer was the only extra-base hit besides Lukes’ double. Guerrero Jr. had two singles, and Andrés Giménez had one single. The Blue Jays managed only five hits but made them count, scoring two runs on two hits in the fifth and sixth innings combined.

The game marked the third of a three-game series between the two teams. Miami had won the opener Monday 8-2 but lost Tuesday’s game 8-1. With the victory, Toronto improved to 27-29, while Miami fell to 26-31. The Marlins have lost five of their last seven games, while the Blue Jays have won three of four.

Miami now heads to New York for a three-game weekend series against the Mets starting Friday, followed by a three-game set in Washington. Toronto travels to Baltimore for a four-game series beginning Thursday.

The Marlins’ offensive struggles continued a pattern seen in recent weeks. Miami scored only one run in each of its last two games after putting up eight runs in Monday’s win. The pitching staff, meanwhile, held Toronto to two runs on five hits but received little run support.

Xavier Edwards remained a bright spot for Miami, reaching base four times and playing solid defense at second base. Otto Lopez collected three hits and stole his ninth base of the season. But the middle of the lineup struggled: Pauley went 0-for-4 with a strikeout, and Marsee finished 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a hit-by-pitch.

Toronto’s bullpen, which had been shaky earlier in the season, delivered three scoreless innings. Hoffman stranded a runner in the eighth when he got Stowers to ground out after a single. Rogers retired the side in order in the ninth, striking out Stowers and getting Javier Sanoja to pop out and Esteury Ruiz to fly out.

The game’s most critical sequence came in the bottom of the sixth: Okamoto’s homer turned a tie game into a one-run lead that the Blue Jays never relinquished. Miami had a chance to answer in the seventh and eighth but could not deliver a clutch hit. The Marlins’ inability to score despite 11 hits was emblematic of a team that has struggled to string together timely offense all season.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Miami Marlins 6, Toronto Blue Jays 5. Interstat’s ELO system gave Toronto a 59.50 percent probability to win. The Blue Jays were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 3 went over the over/under line of 7.5.