Yusei Kikuchi had quite the debut for the Astros. An early two-run home run to the Crawford Boxes filled me with ominous dread, but he did bounce to strike out 11 Tampa Bay hitters, eight in a row at one point. The final stat line was, more or less, impressive: 5 2⁄3 innings, three hits, two runs, three walks, and those aforementioned 11 strikeouts on 95 pitches. And that home run to the Crawford Boxes would’ve been exactly that in three other ballparks not named Minute Maid (Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, and Citizens Bank Park).
Yusei Kikuchi, Changeups, And Organizational Philosophy
