(Toronto) Yusei Kikuchi didn’t have his best outing in his final start in a Toronto Blue Jays uniform, but he felt like a winner after receiving a standing ovation at Rogers Centre.
Kikuchi left the game after four and two-thirds innings, well before Ernie Clement played the hero to give the Blue Jays a 6-5 victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday night.
“I gave up five runs and the fans still gave me a standing ovation,” Kikuchi said. “It was a really big moment for me.”
Two days ago, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins called Kikuchi for a meeting. He informed the Japanese that it was “very likely” he would be traded.
Kikuchi’s three-year contract with the Blue Jays (47-56) expires at the end of the season.
The left-hander had thrown 96 pitches, with five strikeouts and two walks, when manager John Schneider came to the mound to ask for the ball.
“It’s a little weird and new for him,” Schneider said of the wait his pitcher faces. “It would have been easy to let him finish the fifth inning, but I also wanted the fans to acknowledge him.”
Kikuchi allowed a two-run homer to Adolis García in the fifth inning to give the Rangers a 5-4 lead. The Blue Jays tied it in the seventh, however, on a Danny Jansen sacrifice bunt with the bases loaded.
Clement’s bases-loaded single in the ninth inning helped the Blue Jays snap the Rangers’ five-game winning streak (51-53).
Infielder Leo Jimenez drove in Davis Schneider in the fourth inning to give the Blue Jays the lead. Schneider had earlier hit a double to right field.
The Toronto team led 3-1 after the first inning, thanks in particular to a two-run double by Spencer Horwitz.
The defending World Series champions tied the game at 3-3 in the third inning on a bases-loaded single by catcher Jonah Heim.
Blue Jays reliever Chad Green (3-2) retired all four batters he faced for the win. Rangers reliever Josh Shorz (2-1) was charged with the loss after putting the winning run on base in the ninth inning.
Rangers starter Andrew Heaney allowed four runs, seven hits and a walk in five innings of work.