Baseball

Yusei Kikuchi Allows One Run While Striking Out Nine in 4 1/3 Innings; Orioles Beat Toronto 3-2

AP Photo/Nick Wass
Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi follows through on a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, May 15, 2024, in Baltimore.

Reuters

15:17 JST, May 16, 2024

Adley Rutschman hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Baltimore Orioles a 3-2 victory against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday afternoon.

Bo Bichette smacked a two-run double in the third inning for the Blue Jays, and it looked like that would be enough for Toronto, as Baltimore’s offense stalled.

After falling to the Blue Jays in 10 innings on Monday and having Tuesday’s game rained out, the Orioles earned a split of the two-game set and have now put together 17 straight non-losing series against American League East opponents.

Blue Jays starter Yusei Kikuchi allowed one run on six hits and one walk while striking out nine in 4 1/3 innings. Four relievers shut down the Orioles on three hits through the eighth.

In the ninth, Jordan Westburg led off with an infield single against Jordan Romano (1-1), and Rutschman drilled his ninth homer of the season and third of the series.

Danny Coulombe (1-0) worked around a one-out double in the ninth to earn the win.

Westburg’s first-inning home run gave Baltimore an early lead.

The Orioles had runners at second and third with no outs in the seventh after Austin Hays doubled. Reliever Yimi Garcia struck out Westburg and then issued an intentional walk to Rutschman before Ryan Mountcastle popped out in foul territory and Gunnar Henderson grounded out.

Orioles starter Kyle Bradish lasted four innings, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks to go along with three strikeouts.

Westburg’s seventh homer of the season opened the scoring on the fourth pitch of the day from Kikuchi.

Bichette’s two-run double put the Blue Jays on top 2-1. Three of Toronto’s five hits came in the third.

Baltimore had runners at second and third with one out in the fourth following singles by Anthony Santander and Colton Cowser and a passed ball. But Kikuchi registered a pair of strikeouts to escape the jam.

Until Kevin Kiermaier’s double in the ninth, Toronto didn’t have a hit after Bichette’s run-producing double, though it loaded the bases using three walks in the fifth.

With Tuesday night’s rainout, the Blue Jays altered their rotation and had Kikuchi on the mound instead of Chris Bassitt. Both teams are off Thursday.