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Yusei Kikuchi’s spring training shutout streak comes to an end as Blue Jays drop both split-squad games to Phillies

Originally posted on Bluejaysnation | By Cam Lewis | Last updated 3/17/23

The Philadelphia Phillies have finally gotten revenge for 1993.

They beat the Blue Jays by a score of 4-2 at home in Clearwater and they also pounded the Blue Jays by a score of 8-1 in Dunedin, earning themselves a Grapefruit League split-squad sweep. Flags fly forever!

Things worth mentioning…

Yusei Kikuchi had been perhaps the biggest story at camp for the Blue Jays, as he went 9 2/3 innings in his first four appearances of spring without allowing a run. Kikuchi’s spring shutout came to an end on Friday, unfortunately, as he walked the first two batters of the game, Brandon Marsh and Alec Bohm, and then allowed a double to Jake Cave. Kikuchi allowed one more run to score in the first frame on a sac fly but he settled down and found his groove after that. All told, he went three-and-one-third innings and allowed two earned runs on one hit and three walks while striking out three.

Kikuchi says he’s very happy with where he’s at right now, feeling free to let loose & attack hitters instead of thinking about mechanics.

Yusei did today’s post-game interview in English without an interpreter (after joking that I had to ask my questions in Japanese). #BlueJays

— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) March 17, 2023

Following Kikuchi, Adrian Hernandez and Paul Fry both got knocked around and combined to allow six runs during the fourth and fifth innings. Nate Pearson then came into the game and tossed strong frames in the sixth and seventh, scattering a couple of hits while striking out two. The most encouraging part of the outing for Pearson was his command, as he was filling up the zone with his fastball.

Nate Pearson threw 2.0 scoreless innings today, displaying strong fastball command. #BlueJays

2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K & 27 pitches

Pearson threw 19 FBs, 17 of them were strikes, generating 5 whiffs on 13 swings. That's an outing he can build off. pic.twitter.com/Oio3E05ur2

— Thomas Hall (@ThomasHall85) March 17, 2023

Over in Clearwater, Chris Bassitt put together his best showing of spring training, allowing one earned run over five innings. He worked around four hits and didn’t walk anybody but Bassitt hit three batters and only struck out one. Following Bassitt, Erik Swanson came into the game and allowed a two-run bomb to Gabriel Rincones Jr. Zach Pop also allowed one earned run over an inning of work while minor-league journeyman Jay Jackson continued his shutout spring with a scoreless frame.
Also, before the game, we were given a few injury updates… Drew Hutchison is dealing with a left oblique issue but an MRI revealed no structural damage. Otto Lopez is dealing with some groin soreness from playing in the World Baseball Classic and the team plans to be cautious with him for the next week. Ricky Tiedemann was supposed to throw a side session on Friday but it’s been moved back to Saturday. He’s been shut down this week because of left shoulder soreness.

This article first appeared on Bluejaysnation and was syndicated with permission.

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