Kikuchi Yusei (32, Toronto Blue Jays) played seven games in six games but failed to win another victory. Kikuchi lost six games (9 wins) of the season with five hits (two home runs), three strikeouts, two walks, and six runs in five innings in a home game against the Texas Rangers in the 2023 Major League at the Rogers Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on the 14th (Korea Standard Time).스포츠토토
Kikuchi will spend his second season on a three-year, $36 million contract. He made his debut with the Seattle Mariners in 2019 but never recorded a 10-win or 3-point ERA. Last year, he had only six wins, seven losses, and a 5.19 ERA in 32 games and suffered the humiliation of being eliminated from the starting lineup during the season.
I wasn’t looking forward to this season either. Many predicted that Ryu Hyun-jin would be eliminated from the starting lineup once again if he returns in the middle of the season. However, as Alec Manoa suffered from the worst slump, Kikuchi’s importance grew. Above all, it caught the eye with a completely different appearance compared to previous years. Started actively mixing high fastballs and curves.
On August 3, he won his ninth game of the season with six hits, three strikeouts, one walk and one run in six innings against the Baltimore Orioles. However, he has not been able to add wins in seven consecutive games since then. He was sluggish with 18 earned runs in 38.1 innings and a 4.23 ERA in seven games until the game against Texas on the 14th. In particular, he was sluggish with two losses and an ERA of 5.52 in three games in September.
Kikuchi also had a fastball of around 95 miles. However, the pitching balance was adjusted this season, and the proportion of fastballs decreased as off-speed pitches worked. He even used an 81.2 mile (131km) curve for leadoff hitter Ivan Carter in the fifth inning. It wasn’t in the late 60s like Ryu Hyun-jin, but the 80-mile curve was definitely powerful.
However, Texas hitters were not easily deceived by Kikuchi’s slow ball on the day. Then, he hit the ball with a slider, and in the fourth inning, he dropped it low to Nathaniel Lowe’s body, but he was hit by a three-run shot in the middle. In the fifth inning, Robbie Grossman’s 84-mile curve was driven to the center, allowing a two-run shot to the left. There are as many as 26 home runs this season. It exceeded 23 last year.
In the end, Toronto gave up the first three games of four consecutive home games against Texas and confirmed the losing series. Now, he gave up second to third place in the American League Wild Card Race to the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners and went down to fourth place. Two games behind Texas and one behind Seattle. There is still a chance to turn the tables, but it was a fatal defeat for Kikuchi and Toronto
Now, Kikuchi is expected to be given two to three chances to take the mound. Arithmetically, he can win 10 games, but if he finishes the season with 9 wins, he will be very disappointed. In addition, the defeat of the game was very painful.
Article courtesy of My Daily