Belt, Kikuchi lead Blue Jays to series opening win in New York

Yusei Kikuchi pitched six solid innings, and Brandon Belt had four RBIs, including his first home run of the season, as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the New York Yankees 6-1 on Friday night.

Kikuchi avoided damage against Aaron Judge and the Yankees, scattering four hits with three strikeouts and two walks. He gave up the one earned run on the night.

The 31-year-old, who entered the season as a significant question mark following an uneven performance last year, has been reliable thus far, particularly in his previous two starts, with 12 combined strikeouts, three walks and two earned runs. Kikuchi’s fastball velocity has also been a factor, with the lefty touching 97 mph on Friday.

Big Apple Belt ???? #NextLevel pic.twitter.com/1oSrkGiyCx

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 22, 2023

Belt, 34, had his best game as a Blue Jay after he connected for his first home run as a member of the club, crushing a two-run homer off starter Domingo German in the sixth inning. Belt followed that up with a two-run double in the eighth inning.

After a slow start to the season, Belt has been heating up of late, slashing .292/.346/.542 across his last seven games.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his fourth home run of the season, a 106 mph missile off German in the first inning that gave the Blue Jays an early lead.

The Blue Jays improved to 12-8 this season. Alek Manoah will get the ball in a highly anticipated start against Gerrit Cole and the Yankees at 1:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, live on Sportsnet.

Guerrero Jr. reiterates plan to never sign with Yankees

Speaking through an interpreter, the Blue Jays first baseman expressed confidence in his plate approach and acknowledged he’s looking forward to facing Cole on Saturday. But his most memorable answer came in response to a question about something he said last winter.

Asked last off-season about the Yankees, Guerrero Jr. told interviewer Dotol Nastra that he would never sign with MLB’s winningest franchise. “Ni muerto,” he added — “not even dead.” So as the Blue Jays arrived in New York for the first time this year, Guerrero Jr. was asked if those comments still reflected his state of mind.

“It’s a personal thing,” he said calmly via translator Hector Lebron. “It goes back with my family. That’s my decision and I will never change that.”

As entertaining as Friday’s game was, Saturday promises to offer just as much intrigue. Last summer, when the Blue Jays and Yankees exchanged words, Manoah said “If Gerrit wants to do something, he can walk past (Yankee Stadium’s painted, on-field) Audi sign next time.” A few months later during baseball’s off-season, NBA player Serge Ibaka asked Manoah to identify MLB’s biggest cheater.

“Gerrit Cole,” Manoah responded. “He used a lot of sticky stuff to make his pitches better, and he kind of got called out on it.”

Now, Cole and Manoah are lined up to pitch on the same day.

With files from Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith