Left-hander Yusei Kikuchi could be making his final start for the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday in the opener of a three-game series against the visiting Texas Rangers.
With Kikuchi’s contract expiring at the end of the season, it is widely speculated that the 33-year-old veteran will be traded before the deadline on Tuesday.
The Blue Jays fell further out of wild-card contention when they mustered just two hits in a 13-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday. Both Toronto hits came in the first inning, and the Blue Jays were shut out for the fourth time this season.
Toronto is 2-4 on a homestand that concludes with the series against Texas.
Kikuchi will face a team that is coming off a four-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox after a 2-1 victory on Thursday.
“I’m thinking about the deadline,” Kikuchi said through interpreter Yusuke Oshima after a 7-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Saturday. “But every start out there, I tell myself, ‘I got to focus on the game. Got to focus on the game.’ But it’s in the back of your mind. It’s hard to not think about the deadline. It’s been tough, but I just have to go out there and do it.”
Kikuchi (4-9, 4.54 ERA) struggled in each of his past two outings, allowing a total of 11 runs in 9 2/3 innings. He struck out eight in five-plus innings against Detroit on Saturday but allowed four runs on five hits and two walks.
In six career games (five starts) against the Rangers, Kikuchi is 3-1 with a 4.91 ERA.
The Rangers are scheduled to start left-hander Andrew Heaney (4-10, 3.60 ERA) in the series opener. He is 2-1 with a 6.55 ERA in six career outings (four starts) against Toronto.
Over his past 15 outings (14 starts), Heaney owns a 4-7 record despite a 2.81 ERA. Part of the reason for his lack of victories is that his teammates produced two or fewer runs of support in 11 of his past 15 starts.
The Rangers have won five in a row after completing a 5-2 homestand that began with consecutive losses to the Baltimore Orioles.
“It was a great series for us,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “We needed to win some games in this homestand. … (It) says a lot about these guys, their resilience. They did a terrific job in (the Chicago) series.”
The Rangers have vaulted back into contention in the American League West by winning 14 of their past 20 games.
Right-hander Max Scherzer struck out a season-best nine over six innings for the Rangers on Thursday. He has 3,400 career strikeouts, moving him past Justin Verlander into 10th on the all-time list.
“We’re starting to play our best baseball now,” Scherzer said. “We’re going to start getting more and more healthy and get more arms and our bats back. That’s going to be kind of like our trade deadline acquisitions.
“We’re getting really good players back from injury. … We’re in the race. We’re in a tight race right now. We got to play our best baseball now, and that’s what’s going on. There’s good things in front of us.”
Texas reinstated right-hander Dane Dunning (sore right shoulder) from the injured list on Thursday, and he reassumed a bullpen role. Right-hander Gerson Garabito was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock to clear a roster spot.
Dunning is 4-7 with a 4.71 ERA in 15 games (12 starts) for Texas this season.
–Field Level Media
