TORONTO — Blue Jays starter Yusei Kikuchi has proven to be a difficult matchup for the New York Yankees this season.
On April 5, the left-hander tossed 5 1/3 shutout innings with seven strikeouts at Yankee Stadium. And once again in Tuesday’s 5-4 win over the Yankees at the Rogers Centre, Kikuchi gave the Yankees lineup fits over six one-run innings. At the plate, Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. recorded the key hit in the victory.
The win is the Blue Jays’ fourth in a row and moves them to 10-8. It’s the first time they’ve been two games above .500 this season. Toronto will have a chance to earn its first sweep of 2024 in Wednesday’s finale.
“Each one of us, we executed our plan at the plate, I think that’s been the key to our success so far, especially in the last four games,” Guerrero said via interpreter Hector Lebron. “If we can continue executing our plan, we’re going to be fine.”
Kikuchi scattered just four hits and issued a walk while striking out nine, matching his season-high strikeout total from his last start. The effort lowered Kikuchi’s season ERA to 2.08 and after a so-so-season debut, Kikuchi has followed with three of his best starts with the Blue Jays while riding a wave of confidence he’s never felt before.
“He’s pretty locked in,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “I feel like I say every time with him, confidence is a big thing. You trust him. I think he’s being much more efficient with his pitch count. And he’s got great s—. His stuff was electric.”
Indeed. Kikuchi looked locked in immediately Tuesday, striking out the top of the Yankees lineup — Anthony Volpe, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge — in the first inning. From there, he continued to cut through the Yankees lineup effectively, with his only blemish coming when DH Giancarlo Stanton scored on a José Trevino single, and only because catcher Danny Jansen, making his first start since returning from the injured list, bobbled a throw to the plate from left-fielder Davis Schneider.
“He’s got a great mix going. Curveball’s such a big pitch for him, the heater was great tonight — electric at times,’” John Schneider said. “He’s got weapons. He’s confident with every pitch really I think is the difference.”
“Man, he looks good right now,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “The stuff is really good. He’s getting it to areas he wants to. You’ve got to respect the fastball, but the secondary stuff is really playing as well, and he’s throwing the ball really well against us and got the better of us tonight.”
As for his recent success against the Yankees, Kikuchi said the key for him has been focusing on retiring the leadoff batter each inning as a method to limit potential damage.
“My mindset is if I give up a home run, so what? But make sure that there’s not a lot of base runners on and then give up a home run,” Kikuchi said through his interpreter Yusuke Oshima. “Just attacking and getting that leadoff batter every inning is the key to my success.”
There was a brief moment of concern for Kikuchi in the sixth when he looked like he was favouring his left side. After getting ahead 0-2 against Soto, Kikuchi was seen stretching the left side of his torso. The manager, Kikuchi’s translator and two trainers visited the mound to check on the left-hander, who threw some warmup pitches and appeared fine.
After he subsequently allowed a single to Soto, Kikuchi was visited again but stayed in the game and completed the inning with a Judge fly out to right field and a called strikeout on Stanton. The inning ended on an Anthony Rizzo lineout thanks to Davis Schneider, who made a spectacular diving catch.
The ‘Stache saves 👨🏻 pic.twitter.com/787b3jCU4F
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 17, 2024
After the game, Kikuchi said his issue was “just a little cramp.”
“I was sweating a lot today so I think that played a part in the cramping but yeah, I told (the manager) I was OK and he let me go,” Kikuchi said.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays were making Yankees starter Carlos Rodón work hard. It began in the first inning when Bo Bichette battled during a 12-pitch at-bat that ultimately resulted in a walk. The Blue Jays pushed Rodón to 72 pitches through three innings and ultimately ended his day after four innings and 101 pitches.
With the score knotted 1-1, it was Guerrero who propelled the Blue Jays ahead with a two-RBI single in the fourth inning that made it 3-1. The Blue Jays first baseman would finish the night 2-for-3 with two walks.
“One-hundred and one pitches in four innings is tough to do,” the Blue Jays manager said. “And then getting the big hit from Vlad when we needed it to get Rodón out of there. But I think overall, they threw a lot of pitches and getting the big hit is a big part of it. But the approach up and down … everyone was doing their part.”
Earlier in the day, hours before the game, Guerrero took his usual hitting cage routine onto the Rogers Centre field alongside hitting coach Guillermo Martinez to work on his bat path.
“He’s trying to hit the ball into the left and right centre-field gap, and I think getting out on the field and seeing the flight of it is good for him,” Schneider said.
The early work paid off. Both of Guerrero’s hits bounced up the middle, while he also earned a pair of tough walks, including an eight-pitch effort after falling behind 0-2 in the third inning.
“It’s just a plan at the plate, which is the key for the entire game,” Guerrero said. “When you go out there and you keep looking for your pitch and not chase, and just fighting and if you don’t get your pitch, then you get your walk.”
Along with his usual work with Martinez, Guerrero has also been receiving mentorship from former Blue Jays designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion, who has been with the club during its opening homestand in his role as a special assistant. Guerrero said Encarnacion’s advice has been far-reaching — and he’s helped his teammates as much as he’s helped him — but the most impactful advice has been about trusting the process.
“He’s been telling me a lot, but the thing that stands out most is just keep working, keep grinding your at-bats,” Guerrero said. “Don’t give up, keep fighting, keep swinging, the hits are going to come. He’s been excellent.”
“You look at his career and where he ended and how he got there, I think sharing those insights with guys is really cool,” John Schneider said of the former Blue Jay. “I think Vlad really respects him, one-on-one as a player, and there’s a lot of similarities there between the two of them.”
Jays get reinforcements in bullpen
The Blue Jays received a boost to their bullpen Tuesday when right-handed reliever Erik Swanson and Jordan Romano were activated from the 15-day injured list. Romano entered in the ninth inning Tuesday. He allowed a hit and a run, as well as hitting Gleyber Torres with a pitch, but was able to work around the trouble for his first save of the season.
The corresponding moves to add Romano and Swanson saw Nate Pearson optioned to Triple-A Buffalo, while Mitch White was designated for assignment. The decision was a tough one, John Schneider said because Pearson was off to a strong start, having not allowed a run in six appearances this season (6 1/3 innings) and eclipsing 100 mph on his fastball. But with starter Yariel Rodríguez’s innings limit, the Blue Jays need to protect how much he throws each start, which requires them to have Bowden Francis in the bullpen for extra length.
“It was tough. Nate was totally professional about it. (He) understood it. He’s going to be a big part of what we’re doing this year. And he’ll be back at some point definitely,” Schneider explained.
(Photo of Yusei Kikuchi: Mark Blinch / Getty Images)
