Mookie Betts leads Dodgers past Blue Jays 4-2; Toronto drops fifth consecutive game

Mookie Betts went 3 for 5, including a triple and an RBI single, as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-2 on Saturday.

Facing down superstar Shohei Ohtani brought out Yusei Kikuchi's hardest pitches.

Kikuchi threw the fastest pitches of his season in Ohtani's three at bats against him but the Los Angeles Dodgers still beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-2 on Saturday. Kikuchi said his adrenalin was pumping when pitching against his fellow Japanese player.

“I threw my best fastball there this year,” said Kikuchi, referring to a 98.2 m.p.h. four-seam fastball in the second inning that Ohtani hit for an RBI. “But I think the exit velocity on his hit, it was pretty good as well, so he got the best of me there but I was glad to get him out after that.”

Kikuchi struck out Ohtani, who went to the same high school as him in Japan though at different times, in the fourth. Ohtani finished the day 1 for 5, a relatively quiet day for arguably the best hitter in baseball. He has a .347 batting average with seven home runs and 18 runs batted in.

On top of the 98.2 m.p.h. four-seamer Ohtani got a piece of, Kikuchi hit 97.9 m.p.h. on the radar gun twice and 97.7 once, all against Ohtani. Those weren't just the hardest pitches of the game, but the hardest he has thrown this season.

“It was tough facing him, especially because there was a runner on every time when I faced him, so it made it that much more difficult,” said Kikuchi through translator Yusuke Oshima. “He's getting better and better every year so the main focus in the matchups with him was just not to give up the big hit like a home run.”

Mookie Betts went 3 for 5, including a triple and an RBI single, to lead Los Angeles (18-11) to its sixth consecutive win. Chris Taylor and Ohtani each had an RBI single in the second and Canadian-American first baseman Freddie Freeman's sacrifice fly scored Betts in the first.