Kikuchi outpitches old pal, Belt provides big shot as Blue Jays sweep Mets

NEW YORK — Yusei Kikuchi and Kodai Senga return over a decade. They obtained to know each other whereas pitching in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and cast a detailed bond on the league’s 2013 all-star sport. It was there that they mentioned their shared dream of in the future testing themselves in MLB. By the time they have been each all-stars once more in 2017, they have been already planning their strikes to North America.

They opposed each other in NPB solely twice — most not too long ago in August 2018. Kikuchi struck out 10 over eight innings that day whereas Senga countered with 12 over 6.2. Senga’s SoftBank Hawks edged Kikuchi’s Seibu Lions, 3-2, regardless of the longer term Blue Jay throwing an entire sport.

A yr later, Kikuchi was in MLB enjoying for the Seattle Mariners. Three years after that, Senga made the soar himself, signing a five-year, $75-million cope with the New York Mets. That’s when Kikuchi obtained a name from Senga searching for recommendation about navigating the tradition shock. He advised his outdated pal to hunt out the burly designated hitter who’d helped him assimilate to life within the United States — then Mariner and present Met Daniel Vogelbach.

“Vogelbach, he really took care of me when I was on the Mariners,” Kikuchi stated by way of membership interpreter Yusuke Oshima earlier than going through off with Senga for a 3rd time on Sundaybefore going through off with Senga for a 3rd time on Sunday. “When [Senga] signed with the Mets, he reached out and we talked about what it’s like to be in the major-leagues and all that. … We always had the dream of playing in the major leagues one day — we were always talking about that. So, now that both of our dreams have come true and we’re facing each other, it’s really cool.”

There have been no double-digit strikeout performances this time round. But Kikuchi did run his whole as much as eight over 5 serviceable innings, permitting two runs on 4 hits and a stroll as he outpitched his outdated pal in a 6-4 Blue Jays victory over the Mets. 

“I used to be actually enthusiastic about going through him and making the beginning towards him right this moment. We’re all the time speaking about being on this stage within the major-leagues collectively,” Kikuchi stated. “And I think we’ll face each other a lot more moving forward. Hopefully he continues to do well.”

Ultimately, neither Japanese starter factored into the choice as Senga’s day ended early and Nate Pearson coughed up a pair of solo pictures within the sixth inning to give up the two-run lead he inherited from Kikuchi. But Toronto’s benefit was rapidly restored as Brandon Belt smashed a 1-2 Dominic Leone slider 427 toes to centre within the prime of the seventh for a two-run shot.

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“I think that with my approach, I try to stay towards the middle of the field any way. So, any time I do get off-speed, I can get in the air and keep it fair,” Belt stated. “And, thankfully, it was just one of those pitches that was in the right spot. I wasn’t necessarily looking for it. But I just happened to pick it up and put the good part of the bat on it.”

That was all Toronto wanted for a fourth consecutive win, a collection sweep of the Mets, and a continuation of this unstable season. After starting the yr 18-9, the Blue Jays have gone on successive stretches of 0-5, 6-2, 2-9, and now 7-2, oscillating between hot and cold streaks which have taken them by way of a little bit over a 3rd of the season with a 33-27 report.

That’s an 89-win tempo, one the membership will little doubt want to enhance upon over its last 102 contests if it’s going to host wild card video games at Rogers Centre in early October. But for the final week-and-a-half at the least, the Blue Jays are doing what they should do, successful consecutive collection for the primary time since late April.

“I couldn’t be more proud of this team this series. To have a game like we had yesterday and just grind and battle the entire day and end up coming up with the victory. And same thing today,” Belt stated. “They came and tied it late and we just kept battling. We never thought that we would lose the game. That’s what’s really impressive about this team.”

“I think guys are understanding that they’re a good team, right? Calendar month flips to June and things are a little bit different than they were in May,” added Blue Jays supervisor John Schneider. “Sweeping a team is really hard no matter where you are or who it is. I thought it was just a really complete team effort over the weekend.”

Kikuchi leaned closely on his two breaking pitches Sunday, throwing both a slider or curveball 65 per cent of the time. He largely saved them to the perimeters of the strike zone or past and away from harmful areas, working up 10 whiffs along with his slider and 5 extra along with his curve. His fastball — starting from 95-97 m.p.h. — was within the zone and earned Kikuchi 4 extra whiffs for a season-high 19. If something, the pitch was underused. But that’s nothing new with Kikuchi.

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Neither is his continued susceptibility to the longball, as Tommy Pham lifted a pair of solo pictures — one off an up-and-away fastball, one other off an up-and-in slider — past Citi Field’s partitions. But by strolling just one on the day and conserving the basepaths clear, Kikuchi was in a position to restrict the injury.

“I was getting ahead with sliders and curveballs. We’re working on the shape in bullpens. So, I think that played really well today,” Kikuchi stated. “It started off really well to start the season. But the last three or four starts the spin hasn’t been working as well. So, we were able to make the adjustment today and I think it went really well.”

Senga, in the meantime had his worst outing as a Met. That’s a credit score to Blue Jays hitters working a affected person, measured strategy as Senga battled his command and landed solely 35 per cent of his pitches within the strike zone.

The 30-year-old’s calling card is his “ghost fork” — a cross between a splitter and a forkball that comes out of his hand at 83-84 m.p.h. and drops 37 inches on its approach to the plate. Here’s what that appears like:

In mixture with a 96-m.p.h. fastball, a good cutter for lefties, and an enormous sweeper for righties, Senga may be overwhelming. Entering Saturday’s begin, batters had whiffed 59.1 per cent of the time they swung at Senga’s ghost fork and he’d allowed solely six hits on all of it season — 5 singles and a double.

“It’s a very rare pitch,” Kikuchi stated. “A lot of pitchers in Japan throw splitters. But nothing like the splitter that Senga throws. Visually, it seems like the ball is rising and then it drops. Not a lot of pitchers can do that. It’s probably just him.”

But Blue Jays hitters have been nicely ready for it Sunday, shedding 10 of the 14 Senga threw. Matt Chapman was seeing it significantly nicely, taking a full-count ghost fork for a stroll within the second and doubling off one other in an 0-1 depend within the third. Whit Merrifield took a tricky one himself in that third inning, drawing a full depend stroll that ended Senga’s day.

“I was just trying to get that pitch up,” Chapman stated. “Obviously, it’s a good pitch. It’s got a lot of depth to it. It goes up and then down almost. So, you really have to see it up. And I was able to make the adjustment as I saw it more.”

The Blue Jays obtained a pair off Senga within the second, as Merrifield laced a 2-1 fastball into the right-centre subject hole to plate Chapman and Daulton Varsho. The Blue Jays pressured Senga to throw 31 pitches that inning — Chapman and Tyler Heineman every labored seven-pitch walks — softening him up for the third, when the right-hander left a first-pitch fastball up-and-in to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

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Two pitches later, Chapman ripped his double into the left-field nook. And 5 pitches after that, as Varsho drew a stroll, Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez sailed a pickoff try at second into centre subject, which allowed Chapman to race house with Toronto’s fourth run of the day. Merrifield adopted, shedding a pair of two-strike ghost forks to earn his free move. And that was that for Senga.

“It wasn’t necessarily our game plan going in to get his pitch count up like that,” Chapman stated. “But we definitely wanted to make sure we got good pitches to hit. Make him get in the zone, bring him in the zone. I think when we do that, good things happen.”

Of course, Sunday was all the time going to be a take a look at for Senga, who was pitching on 4 days relaxation for the primary time since coming into MLB. The Mets had saved him on an every-sixth-day schedule by way of the season’s first two months, carefully mimicking the routine Senga established in Japan the place starters pitch solely as soon as per week. But the plan going ahead is for Senga to make the adjustment to MLB’s every-fifth-day schedule.

It’s one Kikuchi needed to make himself with the Mariners, who didn’t ease him into it. The fourth, fifth, and sixth begins of his MLB profession have been made on 4 days relaxation.

“It’s tough making that adjustment. It’s not just [Sunday]. It’s an adjustment long-term as well — for the season,” Kikuchi stated. “But hopefully he can stay healthy and pitch well moving forward.”

Kikuchi’s strolling, speaking proof that the adjustment course of is rarely full. Coming off a roughshod debut season with the Blue Jays, the 31-year-old’s 2023 has been an uneven one. He obtained off to a promising begin in April, working to a 3.00 ERA over 5 begins, earlier than regressing throughout a half-dozen May outings, pitching to a 5.38 ERA.

Sunday, working with Blue Jays backup catcher Heineman, Kikuchi obtained his June off on the proper foot. Heineman caught Kikuchi 4 occasions final season — two of them stable begins, two of them powerful ones. That familiarity helps. Heineman’s nicely conscious of Kikuchi’s tendency to shrink back from his fastball, significantly when behind within the depend, and over-rely on a tough slider that too usually morphs into the cutter he’s been burned by repeatedly all through his profession.

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The course of begins within the bullpen pre-game. Heineman’s aim is to assist Kikuchi discover a really feel for his fastball earlier than he ever takes the sport mound, instilling confidence within the pitch that he’ll have to lean on in difficult sport conditions. That approach, when Heineman requires it 2-0 or 3-1, Kikuchi is much less more likely to shake it off.

And even when he does, Heineman feels he has sufficient historical past with Kikuchi and belief in his conviction to throw that very same fastball signal down once more. This time, with a little bit fist bump or level to the mound.

“Kikuchi’s sometimes more of a fire-up guy on the mound. You see him getting passionate when he gets a big strikeout and gets out of an inning. So, I think pumping him up helps him. Instead of calming him down. He likes that fire. He needs that fire,” Heineman stated. “That’s your job as a catcher. That’s what [Danny Jansen] does so nicely. That’s why he’s so valued by this workers. Because he instills confidence. It’s the calls he makes, the mannerisms he has — he actually will get to know a pitcher and what makes him tick.

“I think the big thing is just the confidence in whatever sign you put down. If you’ve done your homework, if you’re prepared, then the pitcher’s convicted that’s the right pitch. Even if it’s wrong. The wrong pitch with conviction can get the right pitch’s result.”

Heineman and the remainder of Toronto’s hitters actually did their homework towards Senga, formulating and executing a well-devised sport plan to deal him his harshest blow but in MLB. Of course, regardless of the place you’re enjoying, you’ll need to cope with baseball’s inevitable poor outcomes. But it’s course of like Kikuchi and the Blue Jays lineup confirmed Sunday which you can construct upon.

“I would say that our at-bats as a group have been getting better over the last couple of series. I know that throughout the course of the season, throughout your lineup there’s going to be guys going through ups and downs,” Chapman stated. “But if we are able to make even simply powerful outs and make guys work — even when you’re not getting hits. Guys right this moment didn’t get some hits — however they made the pitcher throw a number of pitches, they didn’t chase. I feel these little issues add up and result in guys making errors and different guys doing injury.

“I think if we can grind down pitchers and make it really tough for them to get outs, it’s going to be hard for us to go through highs and lows. That’s how you find ways to win those close ballgames or 1-0 ballgames. You just grind guys down. So, I think that if we continue to do that, we’ll be all right.”

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