Kikuchi helps Blue Jays rebound from frustrating loss with convincing win over Dodgers

LOS ANGELES – For the Blue Jays, Tuesday night’s game was about as pleasant as sitting in L.A. traffic for three-plus hours only to realize you’ve been going the wrong way the whole time. Wednesday afternoon, on the other hand, was more like a day at the beach: a little too hot, maybe, but still a pleasant reprieve from stress.

And for a Blue Jays team that’s lost more than its share of heartbreakers in recent weeks, a nice easy win over the Dodgers was the perfect way to wrap up their west coast road trip. With Wednesday’s 8-1 win at Dodger Stadium, the Blue Jays keep pressure on the teams chasing them in the wild-card race and return home for a series against Shohei Ohtani and the Angels with a 57-46 record.

Granted, many more challenges await this team even after a 3-3 trip through Seattle and Los Angeles. Ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline, they must augment their position player core and pitching staff while also banking wins against a hot Angels team and the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles.

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But thanks to Yusei Kikuchi and some powerful swings from Whit Merrifield and Danny Jansen, the Blue Jays rebounded nicely from a frustrating Tuesday night loss in which they blew a four-run lead with suspect pitching and defence. 

Making his 21st start of the season on a day when temperatures sat around 33° Celsius, Kikuchi pitched six innings of one-run ball, walking two while striking out eight. He lowered his season ERA to 3.79 – and remember, he was facing the National League’s most prolific offence.

As the afternoon wore on, Kikuchi displayed progressively more emotion on the mound, finishing his follow-through with a high leg kick at times and entering a celebratory crouch of sorts after getting Miguel Rojas to end the sixth.

And after watching Erik Swanson and Mitch White let a four-run disappear late Tuesday night, the Blue Jays turned to a new set of relievers. On Wednesday, Jay Jackson, Tim Mayza and Trevor Richards combined to pitch the final three innings without incident.

With the trade deadline just days away, the Blue Jays are at a point in the season where players on the edges of the roster could soon be shuffled off of it. Case in point, Trent Thornton, who was dealt to the Mariners for minor-league infielder Mason McCoy before the game.

For every player the Blue Jays add in the next week, someone will have to come off of the big-league roster, too. With a 7.11 ERA and seven walks in just 12.2 innings, White hasn’t pitched well enough to earn job security beyond the deadline. 

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On the position player side, Jordan Luplow’s grasp on a roster spot might be considered weakest, but Santiago Espinal’s name could also surface in trade talks as the Blue Jays seek upgrades. As GM Ross Atkins said last week, at a certain point the Blue Jays would have to consider moving players off their active roster.

Regardless of who they add at the deadline, most of the improvement the Blue Jays seek will have to come from within and in that respect Wednesday’s eight run outburst was encouraging. Merrifield continued his power barrage with his 5th home run in his last 17 games, a three-run shot to left in the fifth.

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The following inning it was Jansen who connected for his 13th homer of the season – sent over the left field wall in characteristic fashion. Considering he left Sunday’s game after taking a 95 m.p.h. fastball to his forearm, it was a welcome development for the Blue Jays.

That power’s especially important at a time that the Blue Jays are missing home run production from Daulton Varsho, George Springer and Alejandro Kirk, though help could be on the way. Ideally, a right-handed hitter would give the Blue Jays a legitimate threat against left-handed pitching while deepening the overall calibre of their position player core.

In the coming days, those discussions will reach a conclusion and the Blue Jays will know what their roster looks like for the stretch run. In the meantime, a convincing series win over one of the National League’s best teams is a good place to start. 

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