Kikuchi settles in but doesn't get much run support

BOSTON -- For 10 minutes Tuesday night at Fenway Park, Yusei Kikuchi looked like a cold pitcher with cold hands throwing a cold baseball. Then came the heat.

Kikuchi tap-danced his way through a shaky first inning but eventually found his fastball and found himself. The left-hander even made some cameos as a goalie, stopping two comebackers and recording five outs of his own along the way. It was up and down, a little gritty and exactly what the Blue Jays needed to see.

It was the type of outing that deserved a win, too, as Kikuchi threw five innings of one-run ball, but the Blue Jays’ offense was muffled again in the 2-1 loss, with the only run coming on Zack Collins’ second-inning homer.

With Hyun Jin Ryu on the IL limiting the Blue Jays’ willingness to mix in a sixth starter, Kikuchi’s importance to this team is already growing. Two hours prior to first pitch, manager Charlie Montoyo said that Kikuchi was still a “work in progress” as he acclimated to his new team, coaching staff and division, but what we saw Tuesday were encouraging adjustments on the fly.

“I feel so good about him now,” Montoyo said. “We lost the game, but I feel like when he pitches now, we have a chance. He was aggressive with his fastball, throwing 96, and he was in control. I feel really good about him. That was good to see. Great adjustments.”

The adjustment Montoyo refers to is mainly with Kikuchi’s fastball usage. Kikuchi is pumping his mid-90s fastball over and over again. That’s when he looks his best and his most comfortable on the mound. Kikuchi was also dealing with a rule we rarely hear of, too, as he received a warning for licking his fingers while standing on the rubber, which pitchers cannot do unless they clearly wipe their hand after. The second time he did it, J.D. Martinez was awarded an automatic ball four.

In that shaky first, though, Kikuchi turned to his cutter in a handful of fastball counts and struggled to establish a groove. The fastball is what made that happen.

“My fastball felt great,” Kikuchi said. “After that outing in New York, I sat down with [pitching coach] Pete [Walker] multiple times. Using that fastball often and early was one of the main goals going into tonight. We were aiming for the 60% mark. I’m not really sure what the percentage was tonight, but it felt great.”

Kikuchi’s fastball rate was 56%. Close enough and a fine point to build from.

Montoyo returned twice to Kikuchi’s defense postgame, too. He blocked liners, made plays to both sides and even charged in to make a spinning throw on a slow roller. It’s a real point of pride for the 30-year-old from Morioka, Japan.

“I definitely had a lot of practice over in Japan since I was little,” Kikuchi said through a club interpreter. “Even in professional baseball over in Japan. I feel like I was able to show that off a little bit tonight.”

In the big picture, the Blue Jays’ offense needs to help out Kikuchi. If he gives them five innings of one-run ball 10 times, though, they’re likely to win seven or eight of those.

Kikuchi has been a point of fascination since signing that three-year, $36 million deal on March 14. What was it that the Blue Jays believed they could unlock to improve his career 4.93 ERA? Could they recapture the Kikuchi from the first half of 2021, who made an All-Star Game with the Mariners? Was there some Robbie Ray magic waiting for him?

The Blue Jays don’t need a breakout from Kikuchi, though, just reliable innings. If Montoyo has said it once, he’s said it 10,000 times: he wants his starters to give the team a chance to win, over and over again. That’s what makes Alek Manoah special, and it’s why Toronto has gone 18-4 in his 22 career starts.

Tuesday was just the start of this, a flashing of potential that the Blue Jays can continue to build on, but they’ll need this “work in progress” to continue progressing. Making adjustments from start to start against weaker opponents is one thing, but battling against a tough Red Sox lineup in a loud, cold Fenway Park -- and even earning a look at the top of the order for a fourth time -- is a much higher compliment to Kikuchi’s game early in 2022.