Kikuchi's 'electric' attitude, stuff paving way for career season

TORONTO -- Just minutes before he mowed through the Phillies, Yusei Kikuchi took in a show.

There he was in the Blue Jays’ dugout, watching Vladimir Guerrero Jr. dance. As Guerrero’s hips and shoulders moved to the music, Kikuchi clapped and laughed along with George Springer.

Kikuchi is having the time -- and season -- of his life.

The Blue Jays’ 2-1 win over the Phillies on Tuesday at Rogers Centre gave Kikuchi the result he deserved, even if the Blue Jays had to grind their way through another difficult game on offense, only scoring the go-ahead run when Cavan Biggio took a bases-loaded pitch off his foot in the eighth inning.

The game was there to win because Kikuchi held it there, stubbornly and dominantly, for six innings.

“He was throwing lightning bolts the first three innings,” said manager John Schneider. “He was electric.”

Kikuchi struck out seven and didn’t issue a single walk, showing remarkable control and conviction throughout his start. Kikuchi now leads the Major Leagues with 13 starts of one or fewer runs allowed, moving him ahead of Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell, Kevin Gausman and Braxton Garrett. His 3.44 ERA now ranks 19th in MLB.

If you watched Kikuchi pitch a year ago, these numbers feel like a dream, but Kikuchi is suddenly one of the hottest starting pitchers on the planet.

“It’s a really tough lineup to navigate when you think about the top, then you have [Bryson] Stott, [Trea] Turner and [J.T.] Realmuto [five], six and seven,” Schneider said. “That’s about as deep as you can get. I thought it was one of the best, if not the best, outing we’ve seen from him.”

There are reasons for this. Kikuchi has finally figured out his curveball and how to use that in tandem with his slider so that both benefit. He’s pounding the zone with his fastball, which the Blue Jays have begged him to do since the day he slid on a jersey that first time in March of 2022, their first move after the lockout had lifted.

The talent that Kikuchi has teased over the years is suddenly happening all at once.

It’s real, and it’s spectacular.

“I always thought I had the stuff to succeed in the Major Leagues,” Kikuchi said through a club interpreter. “But in the past, I always had a bit of a control issue. Right now, I’m able to attack the zone and get hitters out that way this year. It’s really helping.”

Beyond the better breaking ball, better fastball, better game plans and better everything is the joy that Kikuchi pitches with. It’s buzzing off of him.

When Robbie Ray won a Cy Young Award with the Blue Jays in 2021, he taught us all what it looked like to see a pitcher with confidence. You’re starting to see some of that energy in Kikuchi as he hammers away, fully believing that his stuff isn’t just good enough, it’s better than the other guy’s. The lesson we’re all learning from Kikuchi, though, is what it looks like for a pitcher to perform with a pure, unbridled sense of joy.

Kikuchi’s teammates see this. It’s contagious. Many, like Biggio, have been in the same clubhouses, airplanes and hotels as Kikuchi when things weren’t going well, and there’s an incredible reward in seeing their teammate experience the opposite.

“Whenever a player can really struggle, then find ways to make himself who he is again, it’s great to see,” Biggio said. “I think it just goes to show what a competitor he really is. When he’s on, his stuff just plays for him. I’m extremely happy for him, but I’m even happier for our ballclub that gets to benefit from it.”

Schneider joked after the game that it’s a good thing Biggio has big feet, referencing the game-winning run when his utilityman took one off the laces of his shoes. That’s not the world’s most sustainable offense, so the Blue Jays will need to do much more, but outings like this from Kikuchi can steal a game altogether. Add in a one-two punch of Jordan Hicks and Jordan Romano on the back end, and you’ve got a nearly unbeatable combination.

Even 24 starts in, long after Kikuchi’s “strong start” has proven to be something far greater, it feels so surprising to find him in the center of such a success story.

Kikuchi has earned every inch of this, though, and he’s enjoying every second of it.