The Toronto Blue Jays will go for their second consecutive series win on Wednesday night when they meet the visiting Milwaukee Brewers.
The Blue Jays took the opener of their three-game series with the Brewers 7-2 on Tuesday.
After dropping three consecutive series during a 2-9 stretch, the Blue Jays took two of three games against the host Minnesota Twins this past weekend.
The Blue Jays had 14 hits Tuesday. Whit Merrifield’s two-run double in a four-run first inning was Toronto’s only extra-base hit in the game.
Alejandro Kirk and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. each had three hits.
The only Blue Jays starter who failed to get a hit was Bo Bichette, who was 0-for-5 to end an eight-game hitting streak.
Brandon Belt was 1-for-2 with an RBI and two walks. In May, he is hitting .333 (22-for-66) with six doubles, one home run, seven RBIs and 16 walks (.470 on-base percentage).
Toronto’s Yusei Kikuchi (6-2) allowed two runs, three hits and a season-high five walks in five innings. His second of four strikeouts was his 500th in the major leagues.
Both runs he allowed came on a first-inning home run by William Contreras.
“Today was a perfect example of doing things that we’re good at,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “It was good starting pitching, it was clean defense and really good at-bats.”
“Obviously it wasn’t my A-game,” Kikuchi said through a translator. “I just battled out there and gave it my all. I kept attacking them.”
Right-hander Alek Manoah (1-5, 5.53 ERA) is scheduled to start Wednesday for Toronto. In his only career start against the Brewers, he allowed two runs, five hits and three walks while striking out six in 6 2/3 innings to earn the win last June 24 in Milwaukee.
Right-hander Julio Teheran (0-1, 1.80) is scheduled to start Wednesday for Milwaukee. He is 0-1 with a 7.66 ERA in five career starts against Toronto.
The Brewers continue to deal with injuries. They put designated hitter Jesse Winker on the 10-day injured list Tuesday.
Winker had a disc replaced in his neck during the offseason.
“We just made the decision with him battling some of this stuff, the neck soreness, because of the surgery we were going to be cautious for at least a little while here,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “So, put him on the IL to get an active player here.”
Infielder Abraham Toro was recalled from Triple-A Nashville to take Winker’s spot on the roster.
“The other thing is just going into this stretch of games; we’ve got 13 in a row,” Counsell said. “Our depth has been hit, and so we’re probably going to be doing a little bit more of a rotating (designated hitter) here for this stretch of games, and this helps us do that.”
Winker was hitting .204 with 13 RBIs over 39 games. Toro, who was hitting .258 with one homer and 18 RBIs in 43 games with Triple-A Nashville, was hit by a pitch in the ninth inning in his only plate appearance Tuesday. The Brewers intend to use him at second and third base.
Milwaukee shortstop Andruw Monasterio had two singles and a walk in his first career major league start. They were his first major league hits. He made his debut on Sunday.
–Field Level Media
