First pitch: 3 things I heard in Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays clubhouses

Toronto Blue Jays: Yusei Kikuchi showing offseason adjustments paid off

Coming off a season where the 32-year-old left-hander was taken out of the rotation because of ineffectiveness and eventually posted a 5.19 ERA/5.62 WHIP/1.500 WHIP, Kikuchi made some adjustments in spring training that are still reaping rewards for the Blue Jays.

Those rewards kept coming on Wednesday as Kikuchi scattered seven hits and one run over 6.0 strong innings, walking just two and striking out eight to finish off what has been a strong month. In five July starts (25.1 innings), Kikuchi has posted a combined 3.91 ERA, and that’s coming off a splendid June where his ERA was 2.28 over five starts (27.2 innings).

All of the worries about what Kikuchi could bring the Blue Jays in the second year of a three-year, $36 million deal seem to have vanished.

“His year as a whole, he’s been really consistent,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said after Wednesday’s win. “Coming out of camp, the adjustments he made, it’s a credit to him to put himself in the position he did and then kind of evolve along the way too.

“If you look back over the probably the second month and change in the season, without him, we probably wouldn’t be here. He’s been really, really good in his last two (months) and he’s been consistent all year.”

Whit Merrifield, one of the offensive heroes of Wednesday, tipped his cap to Kikuchi in the postgame scrum.

“He’s been nails. He’s in the zone and he’s got great stuff,” Merrifield said. “He had those guys (Dodgers) in a really good offense off-balance for most of the day.”