There were scattered but audible boos from the sold-out crowd at Rogers Centre in Toronto on Thursday as the "The Star-Spangled Banner" was sung by the 40-person ensemble from the local stage production of the Lion King.

With homegrown stars Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette in the final year of their contracts and a competitive window that's open, for now, the Toronto Blue Jays need to make a statement over the first half of the season.

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk agreed to a five-year, $58-million US contract extension with a $6 million signing bonus, multiple media outlets reported.

Toronto Blue Jays centre fielder Daulton Varsho, who is still recovering from shoulder surgery, will open the season on the injured list.

​​​​​​​Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw five strong innings, Shohei Ohtani had two hits and scored twice, and the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 4-1 on Tuesday in Major League Baseball's season opener at the Tokyo Dome.