Sometimes it’s a leg kick, as it was when he struck out Alec Bohm in the first inning of a terrific pitching duel at the Rogers Centre on Tuesday night.
Other times, Yusei Kikuchi’s celebration is a hop off the mound, as it was when he got Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper swinging in the fourth.
The on-mound theatrics are just part of the show, however, as Kikuchi has emerged as a critical force in the sizzling Jays rotation.
The animated lefty continued his rejuvenated season, allowing just one run in six innings in the Jays’ clutch 2-1 win over the Phillies before a sellout crowd of 42,615.
The Jays’ offence did just enough, scoring the go-ahead run in the eighth to improve to 67-54 as the scent of a playoff race begins to get a little stronger around these parts.
“Most of the time, it’s his reaction on strikeouts and seeing the joy he is pitching with,” Jays manager John Schneider said when asked what stands out about the Japanese southpaw’s sensational season thus far. “Watching him work in between starts and evolving as the season went on and looking at a really confident pitcher has been really cool.
It’s been much more than that, of course, considering entering spring training Kikuchi’s role with the Jays was very much in doubt.
Now, all he has done has gone six consecutive starts allowing one run or fewer, matching Dave Stieb and current teammate, Hyun Jin Ryu.
“You look at 365 days ago and where he was (relegated to the bullpen) and where he is now (one of the best pitchers in the league) and it’s awesome to see a player put in the work and see the results,” Schneider said.
Jays hitters certainly had their hands full with Phillies starter Zack Wheeler, who allowed just three hits while walking four over seven innings.
But with Kikuchi doing his thing, it was enough to win a game that Schneider later described as having a playoff feel.
“He was throwing lightning bolts the first three innings,” Schneider said of Kikuchi, who trimmed his post all-star break ERA to 1.29, second lowest in the majors. “It’s a really tough lineup to navigate, about as deep as you can get. I thought it was one of the best outings we’ve seen from him.
While there was no question that Kikuchi was dealing, Schneider took advantage of a rested bullpen and the return from the injured list of closer Jordan Romano to attempt to shut down the Phillies.
It started with a four-batter seventh from Yimi Garcia, followed by deadline acquisition Jordan Hicks striking out the side in the eighth.
That set the stage for the return of Romano, pitching for the first time since July 28. The velocity was back, as was the excellence, as Romano’s fastball eclipsed 97 miles per hour in a 1-2-3 ninth to secure the save, his 29th of the season.
For a team that has had so much trouble scoring runs in critical situations, the Jays finally had something go their way in the eighth inning.
A leadoff walk by pinch hitter Nathan Lukes started it, followed by a Whit Merrifield single. When Vlad Guerrero Jr. walked to load the bases, the Jays thought they had the winning run on a George Springer grounder, only to see Lukes thrown out in a tight play at the plate.
“We worked some walks, we battled,” said Biggio, who had a pair of walks off of Wheeler. “From our hitters, we saw a lot of pitches and we were able to get on base. Being able to manufacture a run was huge especially with Romano coming in.”
It was another clutch night for Merrifield, who had a pair of hits and now has 42 since the all-star break, most in the AL. Over his previous 34 games, Merrifield is hitting a lofty .353 and a tidy .304 on the season.
The latest step on shortstop Bo Bichette’s return to the lineup was washed out Tuesday night in Buffalo where the all-star was scheduled to be the DH for the triple-A Bisons.
The Jays are certainly being cautious with Bichette, though a return to the big club this weekend remains a possibility. There certainly is a need for the return of the team’s most prolific bat.
Meanwhile, the rains at Sahlen Field also wiped out a scheduled outing for reliever Chad Green, who is cleared to return from his rehab assignment after suffering a concussion last week. Another reliever, Trevor Richards, was also slated to get some work.
LONDON – Canada will meet three-time champion Germany in the Davis Cup quarterfinals in Malaga, Spain this November.
Canada secured a berth in the quarterfinals — also called The Final 8 Knockout Stage — with a 2-1 win over Britain last weekend in Manchester, England.
World No. 21 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal anchored a five-player squad that included Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., Gabriel Diallo of Montreal, Alexis Galarneau of Laval, Que., and Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C.
The eight-team draw for the quarterfinals was completed Thursday at International Tennis Federation headquarters.
Defending champion Italy will play Argentina, the United States will meet Australia and Spain will take on the Netherlands. Schedule specifics have yet to be released but the Final 8 will be played Nov. 19-24.
Tim Puetz and Kevin Krawietz were unbeaten in doubles play last week to help Germany reach the quarterfinals. The country’s top singles player — second-ranked Alex Zverev — did not play.
The Canadians defeated Germany in the quarterfinals en route to their lone Davis Cup title in 2022. Germany won titles in 1988, ’89 and ’93.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Canada, fuelled by a 2-1 win over the U.S. and scoreless draw with Mexico, has jumped two places to No. 38 in the FIFA men’s world rankings released Thursday.
Of the top six CONCACAF teams, Canada was the only one to move up. Mexico was unchanged at No. 17 while the U.S. and Panama each fell two rungs to No. 18 and 37, respectively
Costa Rica slipped one spot to No. 50 and Jamaica two places to No. 61.
It marks Canada’s highest ranking under coach Jesse Marsch, who was hired in mid-May when the Canadians were ranked 50th. Since then, the team has climbed to No. 49, 48, 40 and now 38.
Canada has been as high as No. 33 in the men’s ranking, achieved in February 2022 under John Herdman with Canada, named the “Most Improved Side” in 2021 by FIFA, turning heads with an unbeaten run in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.
The new rankings encompass 184 internationals involving teams from all six confederations including 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia, Oceania and South America.
The top 10 was unchanged with Argentina ahead of France, Spain, England, Brazil, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Colombia and Italy. But the gap at the top is closing with Argentina losing 2-1 away to Colombia and 3-1 at home to Italy.
Teams 10 through 15 were also unchanged. But there was movement after that in the form of Japan (, up two), Iran (No. 19, up one) and Denmark (No. 20, up one). Egypt (No. 31), Ivory Coast (No. 33), Tunisia (No. 36) and Algeria (No. 41) all jumped five places while Greece (No. 48) climbed six spots.
The biggest movers were Brunei Darussalam (No. 183) and Samoa (No. 185), who vaulted seven spots on the back of two wins apiece.
Qatar suffered the biggest drop, tumbling 10 places to No. 44.
San Marino remains at the bottom of the rankings in 210th place despite recording its first victory in more than 20 years, San Marino defeated Liechtenstein 1-0 on Sept. 5, ending a 140-game winless run since a 1-0 decision over the same opponent in April 2004.
Liechtenstein fell four places to No. 203.
Canada’s next match is an Oct. 15 friendly against Panama at Toronto’s BMO Field. The next men’s ranking will be released Oct. 24.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
It has been a difficult start to the NFL season for quarterback Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers.
Carolina has dropped its opening two games after Sunday’s 26-3 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. And Young, the first player taken in the ’23 NFL draft, was 18-of-26 passing for 84 yards with an interception while being sacked twice.
As a result, veteran Andy Dalton will start Sunday when Carolina faces the Las Vegas Raiders (1-1).
According to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., the Chargers’ win was the most accurately predicted moneyline selection by Proline bettors. A whopping 92 per cent of wagers were on Los Angeles beating Carolina with 92 per cent also picking the Chargers to cover -4.5.
In other action that went in favour of Proline bettors: Kansas City edged Cincinnati 26-25 (86 per cent correctly selected the Chiefs to win); Houston got past Chicago 19-13 (81 per cent); the New York Jets defeated Tennessee 24-17 (78 per cent); Pittsburgh beat Denver 13-6 (76 per cent), Washington beat the New York Giants 21-18 (73 per cent); and Seattle toppled New England 23-20 (62 per cent).
However, only five per cent of bettors had the Raiders upsetting Baltimore 26-23.
And there was one winner of Proline’s second week main NFL pool of $407,613.
In NFL futures bets after the second week of the season, the odds for offensive player of the year got shorter for running backs Breece Hall (Jets) and Bijan Robinson (Atlanta) and Detroit receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. But they got longer for running backs Kyren Williams (Rams), Christian McCaffrey (San Francisco) and Jonathan Taylor (Colts).
Quarterbacks Bo Nix (Denver), Jayden Daniels (Washington) and Caleb Williams (Chicago) all had their odds for offensive rookie of the year go up while they went down for running back Ray Davis (Buffalo), tight end Brock Bowers (Raiders) and receiver Malik Nabers (Giants).
Quarterbacks Patrick Mahones (Chiefs), Aaron Rodgers (Jets) and Jalen Hurts (Eagles) all had their odds for regular season MVP go up. But quarterbacks Jordan Love (Packers), Lamar Jackson (Baltimore) and Joe Burrow (Cincinnati) all saw theirs go down.
Kansas City, Philadelphia and Houston had their Super Bowl odds increase while Green Bay, Baltimore and Cincinnati all decreased.
Not surprising, the week’s top events were all NFL games. In order, they were; Buffalo-Miami, Chicago-Houston, Cincinnati-KC, Raiders-Ravens; and Saints-Cowboys.
A Proline retail player cashed in a $26,183 winner from a $10 bet on a 12-leg major-league baseball parlay. Another won $24,602 from a $10 wager on a 12-leg NFL parlay.
A third received $1,737 from a $3 bet on a six-leg NFL parlay.
A digital bettor earned $2,927 from a $25 bet on a five-leg NFL parlay while a second had a $704.35 return from a $1 wager on a seven-leg NFL parlay.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Sutherland House Experts Book Publishing Launches To Empower Quiet Experts
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