The Tampa Bay Rays solved the mystery of Yusei Kikuchi on Wednesday night, finally beating the Japanese left-hander en route to a 7-3 victory over the visiting Toronto Blue Jays
The Rays were rude hosts to Kikuchi (5-2, 4.56 ERA) on Wednesday, chasing him after five innings after tagging him for five earned runs and eight hits, including a pair of home runs
Kikuchi had entered the game with a 4-0 career record and a 1.80 ERA against 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 control, allowing just one run, four hits and no walks and striking 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 in the first inning, collecting three singles off Kikuchi, with Isaac Paredes’ lined single bringing home Wander Franco
Luke Raley led off the second by driving a slider from Kikuchi 407 feet 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 in the top of the fourth. But the Rays got two more in the bottom of the inning when Manuel Margot tripled home Christian Bethancourt, then scored on Franco’s RBI single for a 5-1 lead
The Jays tightened things up after McClanahan exited after seven innings. Pinch hitter Cavan Biggio met reliever Jason Adam’s first-pitch fastball with a 422-foot home run to right-center. Nathan Lukes then tripled and scored on George Springer’s groundout to cut the lead to 5-3 in the eighth.
Rays manager 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 at the plate
Kelly escaped, thanks to a sharply hit chopper by Matt Chapman that second baseman Taylor Walls turned into an inning-ending double play by taking the ball on a short hop, stepping on second and throwing to first.
The Rays scored a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth on RBI singles from Siri and Franco against Blue Jays reliever Yimi Garcia
–Field Level Media