ANAHEIM, Calif. – As batting practice unfolded at Angel Stadium Tuesday afternoon, Blue Jays players and staff wandered over toward the third base dugout in the hopes of finding a familiar face.
It didn’t take long for the likes of Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt to locate their former teammate, Yusei Kikuchi, now a member of the Angels after signing a three-year, $63 million deal last winter. Over the course of two and a half years in Toronto, Kikuchi built many friendships with the Blue Jays, so Wednesday’s start opposite Jose Berrios means something extra to him. He’s had his eye on it for a while.
“Yeah, I knew exactly that I was gonna throw in the series at some point,” he said through interpreter Yusuke…