Toronto Blue Jays left-hander Yusei Kikuchi hasn’t been at his best in his last few starts.
A return to top form would do wonders for the Blue Jays in Thursday afternoon’s series finale against the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre.
Kikuchi has allowed 10 earned runs over 8.1 innings in his last two starts against the Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers.
The Orioles are far better than the Tigers and Pirates. They’ve won two of three in this series while outscoring light-hitting Toronto 19-6.
Kikuchi started one game in Baltimore earlier this year, allowing one run on six hits and a walk while striking out nine in 4.1 innings. He had a no-decision in a 3-2 Jays loss that ended on an Adley Rutschman two-run homer off the now-injured Jordan Romano.
Meanwhile, top pitching prospect Cade Povich will make his MLB debut for the Orioles (39-21) as the team’s starter.
The left-hander was originally selected by the Minnesota Twins in the third round of the 2021 draft and then traded to Baltimore at the 2022 trade deadline.
Povich is now the No. 9 prospect in the Orioles system after spending last season splitting time between double-A Bowie and triple-A Norfolk. He logged 126.2 innings across 28 starts and put up a 5.04 ERA.
What makes the University of Nebraska product such a tantalizing prospect for Baltimore is his strikeout rate. Povich fanned 171 batters at the lower levels — third most amongst all minor league pitchers — on a 31.1 per cent clip.
The Blue Jays (29-32), who are four games back of the final wild-card spot, head out immediately after Thursday’s game for a six-game road trip against the Oakland A’s and Milwaukee Brewers.
Watch the Blue Jays-Orioles series finale on Thursday at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
