The way the Blue Jays’ rotation lines up, Yusei Kikuchi is scheduled to make another start during their current nine-game homestand.
Beyond that is uncertain as it’s starting to look as if the left-hander’s days in Toronto are numbered.
A pending free agent, many in baseball view Kikuchi as the best trade chip the Jays can offer in potentially bringing back a decent prospect to a thin farm system before the July 30 trade deadline. Power-throwing lefties don’t exactly grow on trees, which is why Kikuchi should be in demand at the deadline and in the off-season when he’s in line for a big contract.
Kikuchi produced five solid innings for the Blue Jays in Saturday afternoon’s 7-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers — the visitors’ second win in as many games in this weekend series.
In the sixth inning, however, Kikuchi and the rest of the Jays simply became unhinged as the Tigers scored six times. Kikuchi couldn’t record an out as he loaded the bases. Trevor Richards came in and promptly served up a Jake Rogers grand slam to give Detroit 5-0 lead.
The announced Rogers Centre crowd of 38,583 at least had something to cheer about in the bottom of the sixth when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went deep to straight-away centre for his third home run in his past three games.
Kikuchi isn’t keen on leaving Toronto, but it’s clear the 33-year-old will bring back the biggest return of any of the Jays’ half dozen pending free agents.
His athleticism, his explosive delivery and ability to record outs were on full display against Detroit, at least for five innings as he recorded eight strikeouts.
But it was the second start in a row in which Kikuchi was bitten by the big inning after dominating in the early going. Against the Diamondbacks in Arizona on July 14, after four shutout innings, he couldn’t make it out of the fifth, allowing seven earned runs.
Prior to that, in San Francisco, he struck out a career-high 13, but his milestone moment was wasted in the wake of an anemic offence.
Lack of bat support was evident again against the Tigers. Toronto began the day by hitting into inning-ending double plays in the first and second. In the fourth, with one out, Guerrero was caught trying to steal second on the same pitch that Justin Turner struck out on.
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BUSY BULLPEN
With none out in the sixth inning and Tigers at first and second, pitching coach Pete Walker made a mound visit, but Kikuchi hit the next batter with the count full to load the bases.
This time it was manager John Schneider emerging from the dugout to give his starter the hook.
Enter Trevor Richards, another pending free agent. Six pitches later, the Jays were staring at a 5-0 hole. The jury is out on the usually reliable Richards, who has given up runs in five of his eight appearances this month.
He was charged with three earned runs on four hits and a walk while getting just one out and left the bases loaded before being replaced by lefty Brendon Little who got the final two outs in the long inning.
In the seventh, the Jays had Erik Swanson on the mound after the veteran was recalled Friday from triple-A Buffalo. In his return,
Swanson retired the side in order by throwing only seven pitches.
With nothing to play for, standings-wise, an effective Swanson would be welcome as the Jays close out the season, which still has 64 games remaining.
In the ninth, Yimi Garcia, another pending free agent, was on the mound for the first time in more than a month after he was activated off the injured list Friday. His velocity was good, his pinpoint control slightly off, but managed to strike out the side.
For the Tigers, it turned out to be a bullpen day after starter Reese Olson couldn’t answer the bell after two shutout innings.
Alex Faedo, Kenta Maeda and Tyler Holton also went two innings apiece before Shelby Miller pitched the ninth.
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HOT STUFF
Vladdy started at third base on Saturday, with Spencer Horwitz at first, Davis Schneider at second and Leo Jimenez at short for an injured Bo Bichette.
In Detroit’s second at-bats, Guerrero, who began his career on the hot corner, cleanly handled a Rogers grounder at the hot corner. But his throw across the diamond forced Horwitz to make an adjustment at the bag to record the out.
In the third inning, Vladdy went to his left and once again made a clean play by securing a grounder by Andy Ibanez, only this time, his throw to first was on target.
During a bases-loaded situation in the sixth, his throw resulted in a force-out at the plate, but it required Danny Jansen to field the ball on the first base side of home.