The Tampa Bay Rays solved the thriller of Yusei Kikuchi on Wednesday evening, lastly beating the Japanese left-hander en path to a 7-3 victory over the visiting Toronto Blue Jays.
The Rays have been impolite hosts to Kikuchi (5-2, 4.56 ERA) on Wednesday, chasing him after 5 innings after tagging him for 5 earned runs and eight hits, together with a pair of house runs.
Kikuchi had entered the sport with a 4-0 profession document and a 1.80 ERA towards the Rays, and had gotten the win over them in a 5-2 Toronto victory on April 15.
Meanwhile his counterpart, Tampa Bay ace Shane McClanahan, was in full management, permitting only one run, 4 hits and no walks and putting out seven in a seven-inning effort. McClanahan improved to 8-0 and his ERA to 1.97 this season.
The Rays went up 1-0 within the first inning, amassing three singles off Kikuchi, with Isaac Paredes’ lined single bringing house Wander Franco.
Luke Raley led off the second by driving a slider from Kikuchi 407 toes over the right-field wall. One batter later, Jose Siri homered on a 426-foot blast into the seats in left-center for a 3-0 Rays lead.
Toronto’s Bo Bichette doubled off McClanahan and scored on a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. single to make it 3-1 within the prime of the fourth. But the Rays obtained two extra within the backside of the inning when Manuel Margot tripled house Christian Bethancourt, then scored on Franco’s RBI single for a 5-1 lead.
The Jays tightened issues up after McClanahan exited after seven innings. Pinch hitter Cavan Biggio met reliever Jason Adam’s first-pitch fastball with a 422-foot house run to right-center. Nathan Lukes then tripled and scored on George Springer’s groundout to chop the result in 5-3 within the eighth.
Rays supervisor Kevin Cash summoned right-hander Kevin Kelly from the bullpen after Adam gave up a single to Bichette and walked Guerrero with the go-ahead run on the plate.
Kelly escaped, due to a sharply hit chopper by Matt Chapman that second baseman Taylor Walls became an inning-ending double play by taking the ball on a brief hop, stepping on second and throwing to first.
The Rays scored a pair of insurance coverage runs within the backside of the eighth on RBI singles from Siri and Franco towards Blue Jays reliever Yimi Garcia.
–Field Level Media