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Instant Reaction: Yusei Kikuchi hurled a gem as the Blue Jays defeated the Yankees 5-4

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Don’t look now, but the Toronto Blue Jays have won three straight series’.

On Tuesday evening, the Blue Jays hosted the New York Yankees for the second time in a three-game series, defeating the Bronx Bombers 5-3. This brings their season record to 10-8, their record against the Yankees to 4-3, and their home record to 6-2.

Toronto failed to score in the bottom of the first with runners at first and second with one out. The same cannot be said for the Yankees, as José Trevino singled in a run to give New York a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the third, the Blue Jays tied it after a double, a single, and a walk loaded the bases with no outs. Bo Bichette struck out, and Justin Turner hit a sac fly which tied the game, but you’d like to see more than one run come in with the bases loaded and no outs.

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The Jays had an opportunity in the bottom of the fourth, loading the bases with two outs, before Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled in two runs to give the Jays a 3-1 lead.

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Fast forward to the bottom of the six, and the Jays have runners on the corners with one out. Isiah Kiner-Falefa stole second base, with an errant throw allowing Ernie Clement to come in to score. Bo Bichette hit a single to make it a 5-1 game.

New York made it a close one, as Trevor Richards was tagged for two runs in the top of the seventh, and Jordan Romano gave up a run in the top of the ninth, but the Blue Jays were able to hold on for the win.

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Things worth mentioning…

Danny Jansen played his first game of the season, going 0-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. With tomorrow’s game being a game during the day, expect Alejandro Kirk to get the start, which is good because he’s on a bit of a tear at the moment.

Yusei Kikuchi had a terrific start, finishing with a line of 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, bringing his season ERA to 2.08. He’s been great since the start of the 2023 season, and hopefully it can continue.

Yimi García may end up moving to a closer role, as he pitched a clean inning with no strikeouts in the top of the eighth. This brought his season ERA to 1.04.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Ernie Clement both had multi-hit games in the evening, while Clement and Daulton Varsho both hit doubles, the only extra-base hits from the Blue Jays.

Up next: The Blue Jays play the final game of the series on Wednesday at 3:07 PM ET. Afterwards, they’ll have an off-day on Thursday before flying to San Diego to play the Padres.

 As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.