Blue Jays' Yusei Kikuchi: Tweaks arsenal but struggles again

Kikuchi scrapped his cutter in Friday's start against the Astros, Mitch Bannon of SI.com reports. He gave up four runs on four hits and three walks while striking out four in 2.2 innings.

Manager Charlie Montoyo confirmed that Kikuchi's command just hasn't been right, but acknowledged that it's a tough for him to make adjustments while facing the same opponent (Houston) in back-to-back starts. At this point it's tough to deploy Kikuchi while he is clearly experimenting with different approaches in hopes of solving his strike-throwing issues. He has walked 13 in 14.2 innings this season.