Kikuchi ties a franchise record in Astros debut

HOUSTON -- The first six pitches Yusei Kikuchi threw as a member of the Astros on Friday night were all fastballs. The Rays came out hunting the pitch, getting a leadoff double by Yandy Díaz and a two-run homer by Dylan Carlson to put the Astros in a two-run hole only half a dozen pitches into Kikuchi’s outing.

Kikuchi and veteran catcher Victor Caratini changed things up on the fly, going away from the fastball and to the slider and changeup more. Kikuchi responded by retiring 16 of the final 20 he faced, including striking out a franchise-record-tying eight consecutive batters, to lead the Astros to a 3-2 win over the Rays at Minute Maid Park.

“The changeup, I thought, was the game-changer for me,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “That’s kind of what we wanted him to do, was throw the changeup more in-zone. It’s a really, really good pitch and that just makes his fastball a much better pitch. They were ready to hit fastball early on, and then after the second inning came around, he said, ‘You know what, I’m going to start mixing some of my offspeed pitches,’ and he couldn’t be any better.”

Kikuchi, acquired in a trade with the Blue Jays on Monday, struck out 11 batters in 5 2/3 innings -- the most strikeouts by a pitcher in his debut with the Astros since Gerrit Cole had 11 on April 1, 2018 -- and allowed three hits and three walks. He became the first Astros pitcher since Justin Verlander on Oct. 4, 2022, to strike out eight consecutive batters.

“I wasn’t too nervous,” Kikuchi said. “I was able to stick with my regular routine and all that. Obviously, right off the jump, I gave up that two-run shot, but that helped me reset after that. Just make my pitches after that, I think that’s what helped me today.”

The Astros sent three promising young players to the Blue Jays because they liked Kikuchi’s arsenal, and more specifically what they felt he could do with a few tweaks. The 97 mph fastball is a weapon, but Houston was intrigued by his changeup.

Kikuchi threw 38 fastballs Friday while mixing in the slider (30) and changeup (25) and pretty much ditching his curveball, which he threw twice. He generated 26 whiffs on 51 swings, including 11 whiffs on the changeup. He generated the most whiffs by any Astros starter not named Justin Verlander or Gerrit Cole dating back to 2008.

“I threw the changeup still with Toronto, but today I was still able to throw the changeup for strikes, even when I was behind in count, as well as when I was ahead in counts,” he said. “The way I used that changeup today paid dividends.”

He came within one out of a quality start and received a standing ovation from the crowd when walked off the mound in the sixth inning. Kikuchi tipped his cap.

“I’m appreciative of that,” he said. “I know I was part of a big trade and I wanted to do my best today and perform well. I think we got off to a good start today and I’m just glad we won the game.”

Kikuchi struck out the final two batters in the third inning and all three batters in the fourth and fifth innings. Díaz led off the sixth and drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch, ending Kikuchi’s bid at a franchise-record ninth consecutive strikeout. Kikuchi struck out the next batter, giving him nine consecutive outs via strikeouts.

“It was so good because everything he was throwing up there, he just had them so off-balance, and that’s exactly what you want to do,” Espada said. “When you have an offense on their heels, you’re in control of the at-bat. You don’t want their offense to be in control. He had control of the game from the second inning on.”

Caratini said Kikuchi’s changeup looks like his fastball coming out of his hand, and since the Rays were hunting fastballs, it made it an effective weapon.

“He had a good breaking ball going, good changeup going,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “He kind of went to that really heavy through that stretch, and we didn’t have an answer for it in the zone, and certainly there were a lot of strike-to-ball pitches. He got on a good run.”