Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi took the loss in his 100th career start.
Kikuchi allowed five runs on eight hits (two home runs) with five strikeouts and two walks in five innings of work against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S., on Friday.
Kikuchi, who joined the major leagues in 2019, became the 11th Japanese major leaguer in history to make 100 career starts, but he gave up two home runs and a pair of earned runs. Kikuchi suffered his second loss of the season (5-2) in the team’s 3-7 defeat. Toronto, which had swept division-leading Tampa Bay, 20-1, the day before, failed to extend its winning streak 안전놀이터.
Kikuchi has now allowed a home run in three straight games and has been hit by a whopping six homers in three games. That’s 14 homers in 10 games this season. Neutralized by the long ball, Kikuchi has lost his last two starts after a five-start winning streak ended to open the season. His season ERA rose to 4.56 from 4.08.
After giving up a leadoff single to Isaac Paredes with runners on first and third in the first inning, Kikuchi gave up a leadoff single to Luke Reilly in the second and a solo shot to Jose Ciri in left-center one inning later.
Trailing 1-3 in the bottom of the fourth, Kikuchi led off with a single by Christian Betancourt, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Siri, and was followed by an RBI triple by Manuel Margot. He then gave up an RBI single to Wander Franco to extend the lead. Kikuchi was replaced by Nate Pearson in the sixth inning, trailing 5-1.
He hit Reilly with a slider and Siri with a changeup. The pitch that gave up the triple to Margot was a slider, and all three of his longballs on the night were up the middle for a single. Kikuchi, who was sent to the bullpen after struggling last year, will need to cut down on his walks if he wants to last as a starter this year.