Kikuchi's gem goes to waste as Guardians blank Blue Jays

CLEVELAND – Blue Jays manager John Schneider was asked prior to Tuesday’s game about how much length he would give his starter, Yusei Kikuchi, against the Cleveland Guardians.

“If [Kikuchi] is throwing the way he's been throwing, it’ll be a long leash for sure,” replied Schneider.

Call it a premonition, foreshadowing or whatever. The bottom line is that Kikuchi made his manager look like a clairvoyant of sorts with his performance a few hours later. 

The left-hander stifled Guardians hitters on Tuesday night, however his counterpart, Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee, was just a shade better, leading the home club to a 1-0 win over the Blue Jays in the second of a four-game series at Progressive Field.

The only damage Kikuchi surrendered came in the second inning, when Oscar Gonzalez led off with an infield single and then came around to score on Ramon Laureano's double down the left-field line. 

That was it. 

Following Laureano's at-bat, Kikuchi promptly retired 17 of the next 18 hitters he faced.

“He was in total control,” Schneider said. “That's probably about as good as I've seen him. Quick, efficient stuff. He was just awesome tonight.”

In total, the left-hander allowed only three hits over seven innings. He walked one and struck out six, expending 95 pitches — a mark he’s reached only three other times this season.

Kikuchi has been on quite a roll as of late. Over his past five starts, he’s posted a 1.24 ERA across 29 innings. The left-hander attributed such success to being armed with a different mindset these days.

“Just pitching with a lot of confidence right now,” Kikuchi said through interpreter Yusuke Oshima. “That's helping me pitch in the zone. I'm getting ahead in counts and so that really helped out today.”  

Kikuchi relied most on his fastball — which averaged 95.2 m.p.h. and maxed out at 97.1 m.p.h. — and slider, with the two pitches accounting for seven of the nine whiffs he induced. He also sprinkled in an effective curveball that worked to keep Guardians hitters off balance. 

“I'm not really thinking too much right now,” said Kikuchi. “But before, I was thinking a little bit too much, especially in May when I was getting hit around. Since then, I’ve been able to make adjustments and pitch with confidence these days.”

With a 3.53 ERA on the season, Kikuchi has been sneaky good. To offer some context on just how impressive that number is, consider that his rotation mates Kevin Gausman and Jose Berrios — who’ve seemingly garnered the majority of attention this year — hold respective ERAs of 3.20 and 3.38. 

Is Kikuchi underappreciated?

“Not from us, not from our standpoint,” said Schneider. “I don't know where we'd be without him with just how consistent he's been. You look up and he's [14^th] in the [American League] in ERA. He strikes out a ton of guys. He's durable, he's consistent, and he has electric stuff. 

“So, from our standpoint, absolutely not. But maybe around the league. And if they want to keep doing that, that's fine.”

The Blue Jays’ offence, meanwhile, could not provide the left-hander with any support. 

The third inning did look promising when Whit Merrifield, Brandon Belt and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. each singled to load the bases with one out. However, Bibee quickly extinguished that fire by striking out George Springer and Daulton Varsho.

“Give credit to that young cat right there,” Schneider said of Bibee. “Had the chance in the third there with George and Varsho. [Bibee] made big pitches there — right-on-right changeup to George and a back-foot slider to Varsho. That's kind of the difference there.”

Bibee allowed just six hits over his seven scoreless frames, walking none and punching out six. His performance came on the heels of an impressive performance by fellow rookie Gavin Williams, who allowed just one hit over seven scoreless innings against the Blue Jays on Monday night.

Varsho reached base in the ninth inning with a bunt single off Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase, then stole second. However, the Blue Jays could not bring him around and finished the night 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position. 

“We're confident with where we are with the guys we have,” said Schneider of his offence. “And I think we're heading in the right direction, for sure. Tonight, you tip your hat to a dude who made really good pitches in big spots. 

“Whatever we've done, we can’t get back,” continued the manager. “What we're focusing on is the right thing and we have the right dudes to do it. Tonight just wasn’t the night.”

Notes: Kevin Kiermaier was placed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a right elbow laceration, which he suffered on Sunday colliding with the centre-field wall at Fenway Park in Boston. Kiermaier received eight stitches and is unable to bend his arm without reopening the cut, so his return will depend on how quickly his body heals. “Hopefully he's got good healing skin to go with his good looks,” Schneider joked. Outfielder Nathan Lukes was recalled from triple-A Buffalo to take Kiermaier’s spot on the roster. … Left-hander Hyun Jin Ryu, who was hit on the right knee with a comebacker in Monday’s game, underwent an X-ray that came back negative. Schneider said the starting pitcher was feeling much better on Tuesday and the club is hopeful he’ll be able to make his next start, which is slated for this Sunday in Toronto against the Chicago Cubs.