Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi (32) is getting more long hits in May. He suffered his first loss of the season and promised to win 100 career victories in the US and Japan next.
Kikuchi started the 2023 Major League Baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles held at the Rogers Center in Toronto, Canada on the 20th (Korean time) and recorded 3 runs with 3 hits (1 home run), 3 strikeouts and 4 walks in 4⅔ innings.
Toronto lost 2-6. Kikuchi’s undefeated streak (5 wins) stopped after 10 games and became 5 wins and 1 loss. The average ERA for the season also rose from 3.89 to 4.08, breaking the 3-point range.
April was good for Kikuchi, who was in the second season of a three-year, $36 million (approximately 48.2 billion won) contract. Last month, he appeared in 5 games and fought hard with an average ERA of 3.00 with 4 wins and no losses. However, in May, the average ERA of 13 runs (12 ERA) in 4 games, 1 loss, 19⅓ innings, including this day, is sluggish at 5.59.
What draws his attention is his ability to hit long shots. Excluding the game against Pittsburgh on the 8th, he allowed a home run in 3 out of 4 games in May. On the 15th, against the Atlanta Braves, he allowed 3 home runs.
Same on this day. Kikuchi allowed a walk and a hit after a run in the top of the 3rd inning with a 1-0 lead, causing a crisis with 1 run and 1st and 2nd bases. Then he hit a come-from-behind 3-run by Ryan Mountcastle.스포츠토토
Kikuchi won 73 wins with the Nippon Professional Baseball Save Lions. Prior to this game, he had 26 victories in the major leagues.
If they win the game today, it will be their 100th victory in the U.S.-Japan history. Along with the failure of the first win, the 100th win in the United States and Japan has also been promised the next one.