Yusei Kikuchi gave up six runs, including two home runs, over five innings and got tagged with a loss Wednesday as the Toronto Blue Jays were clobbered 10-0 by the Texas Rangers.
Kikuchi (9-6) allowed four runs in the fourth inning when Jonah Heim singled in the opening run with two on and one out followed by a three-run shot from Nathaniel Lowe, who belted a low 1-1 slider over the center-field wall at Rogers Centre.
Robbie Grossman, who had the Rangers' first hit of the game in the fourth, pulled a two-run homer in the fifth off a 2-1 curveball from Kikuchi with two out.
"I was unable to throw fastballs that the batters would have not wanted to see, and that set them up to hit fat breaking balls," Kikuchi said. "It was a really important game so I wanted to win. I couldn't help the team out."
Kikuchi's wait for his first double-digit win MLB season goes on with the southpaw never having recorded more than seven in his previous four years.
Shintaro Fujinami, meanwhile, worked a perfect ninth throwing eight pitches as the Baltimore Orioles lost 1-0 to the St. Louis Cardinals.
