Kikuchi's struggles highlight need for dependable starters
Berrios also uneven, but Jays manager Montoyo not pushing panic button yet
A recent run of poor form and inability to make the necessary adjustments seemingly have left Toronto Blue Jays starter Yusei Kikuchi’s spot in the rotation on thin ice.
With an eight-game homestand against American League East rivals Boston and Tampa Bay compressed over seven days this week, the timing of Kikuchi’s struggles is less than ideal for manager Charlie Montoyo.
“It’s a tough division and they do feel like playoff games every game because they’re good teams — including us,” Montoyo said.
Kikuchi worked only two innings in a 5-4 loss in Milwaukee last Saturday. The left-hander hasn’t lasted beyond the fifth inning in any of his five starts this month.
In addition, uneven performances from Jose Berrios — who has given up 14 earned runs during his past two starts — haven’t helped matters for the Blue Jays.
Montoyo said pitch location is one of the key differences between the hurlers right now.
“One is throwing strikes and the other one is not,” Montoyo said. “Berrios threw strikes, he just got hit.”
With an arm-taxing doubleheader against Tampa Bay looming Saturday, Montoyo needs his starters to pitch deep in games this week to give his overworked bullpen some relief.
Kevin Gausman did his skipper and the club a solid on Monday by throwing 110 pitches — a season-high for the team — over seven shutout innings in a 7-2 win over the Red Sox.
Ross Stripling, who has shifted nicely from long relief into a rotation spot after Hyun Jin Ryu’s season-ending injury, went five innings in Tuesday night’s comeback 6-5 win at Rogers Centre. Staff ace Alek Manoah was tabbed for the series finale Wednesday.
After that, the rotation plan could get interesting for a rare five-game series with the Rays. The twin bill was needed to include a game originally scheduled for April 4.
“We’ve got to add another starter this week just to cover that and these (aren’t) seven-inning doubleheaders,” Montoyo said. “So that’s another part of the equation.”
Major League Baseball returned to nine-inning doubleheader games this season after trimming them in 2020 and ’21. Thomas Hatch could be in line to get a callup from Triple-a Buffalo.
Sometimes a struggling pitcher will skip a start in an attempt to reset but Montoyo can’t really afford that option this week given the schedule. He said Kikuchi was still tabbed to make his regular turn in the rotation, although it’s not in stone.
When asked about a potential move to the bullpen, Montoyo said there has been no conversation on that front as of yet.
“We haven’t gone there,” he said. Kikuchi, who signed a three-year Us$36-million deal with the Blue Jays in the off-season, is 2-4 with a 5.08 earned-run average. He has issued 35 walks in his 14 starts. A mid90s fastball is one of the southpaw’s main weapons but he has shied away from it of late and hitters are sitting on his other pitches.
Berrios, meanwhile, is 5-4 with a 5.86 ERA and 20 walks in 15 starts.
He’s expected to be a rotation anchor for the present and the future after inking a $131-million, seven-year extension last fall.
Montoyo said Berrios has managed to regain his consistency in the past when struggles have crept in.
“He’s got a track record of doing it and being really good,” he said. “That’s No. 1 for sure. So it’ll be easier for Berrios to make the adjustment than Kikuchi because he’s done it before.”
Closer Jordan Romano of Markham, Ont., has served well in the ninth-inning role for a bullpen that has had its share of injuries. Romano picked up the victory on Tuesday after pitching a scoreless top of the ninth, paving the way for late-inning heroics by Alejandro Kirk, George Springer, Bo Bichette (who singled home Kirk with the tying run), and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., whose seeing-eye single plated Springer for the win.
Primary setup man Tim Mayza recently returned after missing almost a month due to forearm inflammation. Yimi Garcia ( back) and Julian Merryweather (abdominal) are two notable relievers currently on the injured list.
With the Blue Jays in win-now mode, the pitching concerns add to the pressure on GM Ross Atkins to supplement the staff ahead of the Aug. 2 trade deadline.
The club’s halfway point of the regular season arrives Monday in Oakland with the opener of a seven-game road trip.