TORONTO – Twenty-four hours ago, the baseball world was in agreement: the Rays were a force. They arrived in Toronto undefeated with a 13-0 record that was unsurpassed in modern baseball history.
Since then, the Rays have played twice, losing each time to the Toronto Blue Jays. First, Jose Berrios put together his best start of the season. On Saturday it was Yusei Kikuchi’s turn and he impressed with an even better outing on the way to a 5-2 win. With that, the back of the Toronto rotation shut down baseball’s hottest team and the Blue Jays made it clear they can hold their own against the Rays – even if most other teams can’t.
On another warm afternoon at Rogers Centre, the roof was open, the stands were full and the players all wore No. 42 in recognition of Jackie Robinson Day. Pitching for the third time this season, Kikuchi was at his best.
He attacked with a 95 m.p.h. fastball while keeping hitters off-balance with his slider and change-up. He struck out nine over six innings, allowing just one run – a Taylor Walls home run – on four hits. But he threw strikes consistently, walking just one and striking out four in a row following the Walls homer. Best-case scenario against one of MLB’s elite teams.
All spring, Kikuchi worked toward this kind of performance. He pitched with more pace and made a point of attacking hitters within the zone, but his first two starts were mixed with a solid start against the Royals followed by a rough outing against the Angels. Making his first home start of 2023, it all came together.
Offensively, the Blue Jays’ catching duo of Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen led the way with two hits and a walk apiece. Both started the season slowly, but Kirk has been swinging the bat better of late, so he started at DH over Brandon Belt Saturday.
Otherwise, it was a relatively quiet day at the plate for the Blue Jays, who chipped away at the Rays with seven hits and six walks on a day they didn’t connect for a home run. Still, it was enough thanks to the efforts of Kikuchi and relievers Erik Swanson, Adam Cimber and Jordan Roman, who worked through a bases-loaded jam to secure his MLB-leading sixth save of the season.
As for Berrios, the Blue Jays expect him to be able to make his next start despite taking a comebacker off his knee in Friday’s start. Watching the right-hander work, manager John Schneider liked seeing him pitch with a sense of confidence.
“Enough is enough, you know? He knows he’s really good,” Schneider said. “I just love the way he went about it. I think that when you throw in with conviction, you can – this is weird to say – but I think when you throw with conviction, you could almost get away with more mistakes … Stuff was great, too. He was feeling it.”
So was Kikuchi, and now the 10-5 Blue Jays have closed the gap between them and the 13-2 Rays. Take nothing away from Tampa Bay – they remain an elite team and should compete for a playoff bye all year – but by winning this series against the Rays the Blue Jays are making it clear that they’re just as much of a threat to win the AL East.
Of course, there’s more intrigue to come Sunday with Shane McClanahan slated to pitch against Alek Manoah in the series finale. At stake: the possibility of the first sweep of the season for the Blue Jays and the chance to gain another game on their division rivals.
“Good matchup,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. “Two really good pitchers. Looking forward to it.”
