Toronto’s Yusei Kikuchi Strike Out a Season-High Nine, Allows One Run; Mariners Beat Blue Jays 6-1 to Avoid Sweep

AP

10:18 JST, April 11, 2024

TORONTO (AP) — Cal Raleigh hit a two-run home run in the 10th inning and the Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-1 on Wednesday to avoid a three-game sweep.

Raleigh connected on the first pitch he saw from Blue Jays left-hander Tim Mayza (0-1). The homer was Raleigh’s second of the season.

Raleigh has nine home runs and 16 RBIs in 15 regular-season games against the Blue Jays. Including the postseason, he’s homered seven times in Toronto, more than any other opposing ballpark.

Raleigh also homered at Toronto in Game 1 of Seattle’s wild-card sweep of the Blue Jays in 2022.

“I like coming here,” Raleigh said. “It’s good memories here, going all the way back to ’22.”

Raleigh acknowledged, however, that he didn’t much like the comments Blue Jays manager John Schneider made after the Mariners catcher homered twice in a 10-8 win north of the border in April 2023.

“He’s not very tough to pitch to when you execute your pitches,” Schneider said that day.

“I don’t have much to say,” Raleigh said when asked Wednesday about Schneider’s past comments. “If you don’t have anything nice, don’t say anything at all, I guess. He’s had a lot of beef with people in the league and he kind of did it to himself.”

Mayza got one out and allowed four runs.

“His stuff isn’t quite there,” Schneider said. “It was a tough outing for Tim.”

Ty France hit an RBI double and Mitch Haniger added a two-run single in the five-run 10th as Seattle snapped a three-game losing streak and won for the second time in eight games.

“I know it’s early in the season but it’s really big for our club,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his third home run of the season, a 459-foot solo blast, but the Blue Jays left the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth against Mariners right-hander Andrés Muñoz.

Justin Turner hit a one-out single and was replaced by pinch runner Davis Schneider. Cavan Biggio was hit by a pitch, Alejandro Kirk lined out, and pinch hitter Daniel Vogelbach walked to load the bases. Muñoz retired Ernie Clement to send the game to extra innings.

Muñoz (1-1) pitched 1 1/3 innings for the victory. Ryne Stanek finished for the Mariners.

The Blue Jays managed just a pair of singles through six innings against Seattle right-hander Logan Gilbert, but erased a 1-0 deficit in the seventh when Guerrero led off with a drive into the second deck.

Gilbert was replaced after George Springer walked with two outs in the eighth to put runners at first and second for Guerrero. Muñoz came on and got the Blue Jays slugger to fly out.

Gilbert allowed one run and five hits in a season-high 7 2/3 innings. He walked one and matched a season high by striking out eight.

“What an awesome outing by Logan Gilbert,” Servais said. “That was exactly what we needed.”

Toronto’s Yusei Kikuchi allowed one run and three hits in six innings against his former team. The left-hander walked two and struck out a season-high nine.