Kikuchi has 11 Ks in Houston debut, Astros beat Rays 3-2

HOUSTON (AP) — Yusei Kikuchi shook off a rocky start to finish with 11 strikeouts in his Houston debut, and the Astros beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 on Friday night.

Kikuchi — acquired from Toronto on Monday — allowed a double to Yandy Diaz on his second pitch and a two-run homer to Dylan Carlson on his sixth.

Carlson got his first homer in 125 at-bats this season and his first since joining the Rays in a trade from St. Louis on Tuesday.

Kikuchi quickly settled in after that, striking out his eighth batter in a row to end the fifth to tie an Astros franchise record. Justin Verlander was the last Astros pitcher to strike out eight in a row in 2022.

“I know I was part of a big trade, so I wanted to do my best today and perform well,” Kikuchi said. “I think we got off to a good start today, and I’m glad that we won the game.”

Kikuchi went 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and three hits while walking three. He fell two strikeouts shy of his season high and matched his season-low of three hits allowed.

“If you take those first two at-bats of the game, he was outstanding,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “Fastball was explosive, and he was mixing all of his breaking balls. Just an outstanding performance.”

The Astros took a 3-2 lead with two outs in the seventh against Kevin Kelly (3-2) after Yordan Alvarez hit a bloop single and was followed by a double from Diaz. Second baseman Christopher Morel mishandled the throw from outfielder Carlson, allowing Alvarez to score.

Bryan Abreu (2-1) struck out two in one scoreless inning to pick up the win. Josh Hader pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his 22nd save of the season and his 22nd consecutive converted save opportunity, matching the second-longest streak in franchise history.

The Astros tied the game in the fourth after Diaz walked, Jeremy Peña doubled, then Jon Singleton singled to score Diaz. The next batter, Jake Meyers, hit a sacrifice fly to deep right to drive in Peña.

The Rays loaded the bases with one out in the eighth inning, but Astros setup man Ryan Pressly was able to get out of the jam with the lead intact.

“We’re striking out, but it’s not the third strike that’s getting us,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “The approach has not been ideal. We’re expanding on guys early in the count, and we need to be a little bit more mindful of what they’re doing to us. Today, they went soft, soft, soft, and we didn’t have an answer.”

Rays starter Shane Baz allowed two runs, six hits and struck out five in 5 1/3 innings.

“He did a really nice job and gave us every opportunity to win the game,” Cash said. “We just couldn’t answer for him, offensively. Shane -- and really, all the pitching -- did a really nice job.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rays: OF/IF Richie Palacios was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right knee sprain and is expected to miss four to six weeks. The Rays called up outfielder Kameron Misner from Triple-A Durham.

Astros: P Verlander (neck) will throw a live batting practice session on Sunday, and if it goes well, he will start a minor-league rehab assignment, manager Joe Espada said. ... RF Kyle Tucker (shin contusion) is slowly making progress, but soreness lingers, Espada said. Tucker has been out since June 3 after fouling a ball off his shin.

CHANGING THINGS UP

The Astros shook things up by having Kikuchi, a hard-throwing lefty, throw more off-speed pitches, especially his changeup, which Espada called a “game-changer.”

“I got a lot of swing-and-misses with the changeup, which made my slider very effective as well,” Kikuchi said. “I’m pretty fastball dominant, usually, but being able to use all three of those pitches, I think led to my success today.”

PITCHING COACH EJECTED

Rays pitching coach Kyle Snyder was ejected early in the fourth inning. On a mound visit with Baz, home plate umpire Doug Eddings walked up to the mound to let them know to wrap it up when Snyder appeared to say something to Eddings. The two conversed on the way back to home plate before Eddings signaled that Snyder was ejected. Cash inquired with Eddings briefly before the game resumed.

“He wasn’t happy about the not check-swing call,” Cash said.

Rays RHP Zack Littell (4-7, 4.18 ERA) pitched seven scoreless innings in a 4-0 win over the Reds in his last start on July 27. Astros RHP Ronel Blanco (9-5, 2.95 ERA) has allowed four runs in back-to-back starts and hasn’t won a start since July 9.

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