Looking to build on last start, Mariners’ Kikuchi ready for Japanese pitching showdown with Tanaka
Long before New York Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka started carving up American League hitters, Yusei Kikuchi was admiring him from afar in Japan.
“His high school was actually pretty close to mine, and they won the championship one year, and I remember watching that as a kid,” Kikuchi said Monday at T-Mobile Park, through interpreter Justin Novak. “Even when (Tanaka) came to the states, even from his first year, he’s been performing, and is still performing now.
“He’s a huge role model to all of the pitchers out there in Japan.”
In his rookie season with Seattle, Kikuchi said he’s kept up with Tanaka’s progress, and has tried to learn from some of Tanaka’s successes as he navigates major-league hitters, though the two pitchers had never actually met until the Mariners visited New York in May.
“In my first year, this has kind of been a learning year for me,” Kikuchi said. “I’m studying the game. ... His command is really good. His breaking balls. His whole repertoire is just something to study for me.”
Kikuchi had the opportunity to get a closer look at Tanaka’s pitching in person during that four-game road series in New York in the spring, but when Tanaka pitches against the Mariners this time, the focus will be a bit different.
After the Mariners skipped his last start to give him a short break, Kikuchi was slotted back into the rotation to start Tuesday. The pitcher for the Yankees? Tanaka.
“First and foremost, when (Mariners manager Scott Servais) told me I was facing the Yankees, I was very excited, and really pumped to face a really good team like this,” Kikuchi said. “And also, on top of that, I found out it’s going to be against Mr. Tanaka on the other side. So it’s going to be a very special game for me.”
It will be the 16th time in MLB history that two starting pitchers from Japan have opposed each other, and first since Tanaka pitched against Yu Darvish and the Rangers on June 23, 2017.
“I am looking forward to it,” Tanaka said. “There’s only a handful of Japanese players, or pitchers for that matter, in the league. To be able to go out there and go against each other. It will be a fun thing.”
Kikuchi said he is looking to build on his most recent start — a complete-game, two-hit shutout in Toronto last week, during which he struck out eight batters — during this outing against the Yankees, and the handful of starts he has remaining in the season.
“I’m just trying to relax, and trying to feel what I did last game, keeping everything consistent,” Kikuchi said. “I don’t want it to be a one-time thing. So, just have this feeling and move into the right direction.”
While Kikuchi has adjusted his throwing program at different points throughout his first season, Servais said he hasn’t switched anything up significantly during this longer break between starts. The extended time away from the mound — eight days of rest instead of four — is in keeping with a season-long plan the Mariners have had to keep Kikuchi’s innings in check.
He pitched one inning, essentially as an opener, during one game in May, and was skipped during another cycle through the rotation in June. He had pitched each turn following the All-Star break until this recent skip.
“I think you stick to the plan,” Servais said. “I think that’s one of the reasons I wanted to tell him (we were skipping him) before he went out and pitched in Toronto. It just relaxes you. You’re going to have an outing and then you’re going to have a break. Maybe that helped. I don’t know. But, you can’t be jumping all over the board with players.
“You need to be consistent. And certainly I think we have been with him, laying out the plan and what the goal was for this year. It was just nice to see him take a step forward.”
Kikuchi fared relatively well against the Yankees in his only other start against them on May 8, earning a win. He tossed one of his longer outings of the season, going 7 2/3 and allowing just one earned run on three hits while walking one and striking out three on 106 pitches.
New York’s lineup, which has been riddled with injuries this season, has a bit more firepower this time around, but Kikuchi said he tries to keep his emotions pretty even regardless of who he’s facing during any given start.
“I know this league is full of superstars, but if you go out there thinking everything is mesmerizing, you can’t really compete,” Kikuchi said. “The name of the game out here is to compete, so I’m learning how to do that every day, going out there trying to battle for my teammates.”
But, that’s not to say he’s not excited for this particular outing.
“Tanaka’s games are always televised, so I’m always watching that, and watching the Yankees,” Kikuchi said. “They’re a team that — even when I was in Japan — has always had all of the superstars. I’m just really excited to face this team.”
And he’s excited for everyone back home to witness a first-time meeting between a pair of Japanese pitchers.
“To everyone back home, I want to show them a really good matchup, and go out there and compete for my team, and show the fans what we’re made of,” Kikuchi said.
This story was originally published August 27, 2019 at 6:00 AM.
