The Toronto Blue Jays baseball team achieved their second consecutive win over the weekend against the Tampa Bay Rays, with a great performance by Japanese pitcher Yusei Kikuchi and Mexican slugger Alejandro Kirk. The game ended with a score of 5-2 in favor of the Blue Jays. This was the second consecutive loss for the Rays, who on Friday were just one win away from the best start in modern baseball history. The Rays had racked up 13 consecutive wins since the start of the season, something only the Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers had previously accomplished. Although the Rays have yet to lose on US soil, both of their losses this season have come on Canadian soil.
In Saturday’s game, Yusei Kikuchi struck out nine in six innings, Danny Jansen connected on two hits and drove in a run, and Alejandro Kirk struck out four times, scored once, and drove in a run to give the Blue Jays their second straight win. Rays slugger Taylor Walls hit a solo home run, becoming the only player on his team to score in the game.
In another game, the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 13-0, thanks to the great performance of slugger Wil Myers, who hit two home runs in four at-bats. Reds pitcher Graham Ashcraft allowed just four hits in six shutout innings to remain undefeated on the season. The Reds have played six of their first 14 games against the Phillies, winning three and losing three. Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a double to center field.