Achi news desk-
Against the superstar Shohei Ohtani took out Yossi Kikuchi’s hardest pitches.
Kikuchi threw the fastest pitches of his season in Ohtani’s three at-bats against him, but the Los Angeles Dodgers still beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-2 on Saturday. Kikuchi said his adrenaline was pumping as he charged up against his Japanese player.
“I threw my best fastball there of the year,” Kikuchi said, referring to Ohtani’s 98.2 mph fastball in the second inning for an RBI. “But I think the exit velocity on his hit was pretty good, too, so he got You got the best of me there, but I was happy to get him out after that.”
Kikuchi hit Otani, who attended the same high school as him in Japan albeit at different times, on Wednesday. Ohtani finished the first day 5, a relatively quiet day for arguably the best hitter in baseball. He has a .347 batting average with seven home runs and 18 runs scored.
In addition to the 98.2 mph four-seamer Ohtani got a piece of, Kikuchi hit 97.9 mph in the radar gun twice and 97.7 once, all against Ohtani. These weren’t just the hardest pitches of the game, but the hardest that he threw this season.
“It was hard to face him, especially because he was a runner every time I faced him, so that made it much more difficult,” Kikuchi said through translator Yusuke Oshima. “He gets better and better every year, so the main focus in the meetings with him was simply not to give up the big hit like a home run.”
Mookie Betts went 3 for 5, including a triple and an RBI single, to lead Los Angeles (18-11) to its sixth straight win. Chris Taylor and Ohtani each had RBI singles in the second, and Canadian-American first baseman Freddie Freeman’s first sacrifice bunt scored Betts in the first.
Tyler Glasnow (5-1) had nine strikeouts, allowing a run on two hits and three walks over six innings. Joe Kelly, Ryan Brazier and Evan Phillips struck out in the bullpen for the Dodgers to preserve the win.
Davis Schneider had an RBI double in the seventh and scored in the ninth Toronto (13-15) lost its fifth game in a row. Cavan Biggio drove Schneider in with a two-out base hit.
“I feel like you’re never really out of it until all 27 outs are out,” Schneider said. “It got a little bit down there but you just have to fight to the end.”
Kikuchi (2-2) gave up four runs on nine hits, striking out three over six innings. Blue Jays release Genesis Cabrera, Yaimi Garcia, Jordan Romano from Markham, Ont. and Nate Pearson combined for three innings of scoreless relief.
Ohtani was loudly booed by most of the 39,405 fans in attendance whenever his name was announced over the Rogers Center public address system.
The Japanese superstar won the enmity of Toronto fans after choosing the Dodgers over the Blue Jays during free agency last winter.
He signed a 10-year, $700 million deal with Los Angeles on December 11. It’s the largest contract in professional sports history.
“Once I heard the boos, I just turned my ears off,” Glasnow said.
There was a small section of fans who cheered loudly every time Freeman, whose parents are Canadian, came to the plate. That team got some “let’s go Dodgers” chants in their section as well.
Betts led off the game with a triple Toronto Central midfielder Daulton Warshaw missed the ball in a diving catch. Two batters later, Freeman hit a sacrifice fly that gave Betts enough time to run home for an early lead for Los Angeles.
Taylor added another run in the second with a single to left field, driving in Enrique Hernandez from third. Two batters later, Ohtani singled to right to score Andy Pages and give the Dodgers a 3-0 lead.
Betts drove in another run for the visitors in the fourth, with a single to shallow center field that scored Miguel Rojas.
Toronto He finally answered back in the seventh when Schneider’s double scored Danny Jansen to end Glasnow’s inning. It was Schneider’s 11th RBI of the young season.
Biggio cut into the Dodgers’ lead with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Schneider reached base after a throwing error by Phillips advanced him to second and then Biggio scored his teammate.
On Deck – Kevin Gausman (0-3) takes the mound for the Blue Jays in their series finale with Los Angeles.
James Paxton (2-0) of Richmond, BC, will get the start for the Dodgers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on April 27, 2024.
