Left-hander Yusei Kikuchi aims to give the Toronto Blue Jays a chance to split their four-game series with the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday afternoon.
He will face left-hander Cade Povich, who is scheduled to make his major league debut.
After dropping the first two games of the series against the Orioles by a combined 17-3 score, the Blue Jays won 3-2 on Wednesday.
Isaiah Kiner-Falefa’s long single in the bottom of the ninth gave the Blue Jays their second walk-off win of the season, both on the current homestand.
Kiner-Falefa had two hits and two RBIs to help Toronto improve to 3-3 on the homestand.
“It felt good, especially my first year on the team,” Kiner-Falefa said. “To get that moment with the Blue Jays meant a lot to me. It was very cool that the stadium stayed after for the interview as well. It was a really cool moment for me, my first real cool moment as a Blue Jay.”
The winning rally began when Justin Turner delivered his third hit of the game. His second hit was the 1,500th of his career.
“Our starting pitchers have done an amazing job and we have not been giving them the runs that they deserve or they should be getting,” Kiner-Falefa said.
The Orioles still have won 10 of their past 13 games.
Kikuchi (2-5, 3.66 ERA) has had mixed results against the Orioles. He allowed six hits and one run over 4 1/3 innings at Baltimore on May 15, striking out nine and walking one in a no-decision. The Orioles won 3-2.
In 13 career appearances (10 starts) against Baltimore, he is 4-5 with a 5.17 ERA.
Povich had been scheduled to make his next start with Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday, but he will pitch in Toronto instead of Kyle Bradish.
“(Povich) threw the ball great for us in spring,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said on Wednesday. “I thought it was huge strides from the year before. It’s great stuff. It’s all about command and strikes with him, and that’s something we talked about when we sent him out at the end of camp was just really want him to minimize walks, try to get hitters out early in the count because the stuff really plays.
“He’s done that in Triple-A. He took that, and the walks are way down, the command, the fastball command, is better. It’s improved, so we’re excited about him.”
Povich, 24, has been effective in 11 starts for Norfolk this season, going 5-1 with a 3.18 ERA, 75 strikeouts and 21 walks in 56 2/3 innings.
The Orioles are pushing Bradish’s next scheduled start back one or two days to give the right-hander extra rest after he allowed five runs in 2 2/3 innings against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. Bradish missed the first month of the season after partially tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow during the winter. He underwent platelet-rich plasma injections, avoiding Tommy John reconstructive surgery.
Hyde said that the team’s current stretch of 30 games in 31 days has the Orioles looking at ways to give all their starters some extra rest to keep them healthy for the rest of the season.
–Field Level Media
