Kikuchi's Astros tumble while Tigers and Padres advance

Japanese lefty Yusei Kikuchi, who has buoyed the Houston Astros on their way to the postseason, will not appear in the playoffs after his team was defeated in the Major League Baseball playoffs on Wednesday.

The Detroit Tigers completed their best-of-three American League Wild Card Series at Minute Maid Park in Houston with a 5-2 victory behind Andy Ibanez's game-winning three-run double in the eighth inning.

Kikuchi, who was 5-1 with a 2.70 ERA since bringing him to Houston in a late July trade from the Toronto Blue Jays, was one of three starters on the Astros' roster but was Houston's eighth straight postseason appearance only short-lived.

As the game ended, Kikuchi trotted back from the bullpen, where he prepared to serve as a reliever in extra innings if necessary.

“It's a bitter disappointment right now,” said Kikuchi, who will be a free agent this fall.

“To find out that a team like this can win really impressed me. Now I understand why they have been winners for so long.”

Detroit's Japanese right-hander Kenta Maeda, a long-time pitcher from July 14 through the start of his final game of the season on Sept. 29, was not on the roster but may be added before the Tigers play the Cleveland Guardians beginning Saturday.

The San Diego Padres also advanced with a two-game home win against the Atlanta Braves. Neither Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish nor fellow lefty Yuki Matsui started both games, but Robert Suarez, who led Japan's Central League with two saves, finished both games for San Diego.

The Padres will face their National League West rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, beginning Saturday.

Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto is expected to start Game 2, Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes told reporters online Wednesday.

“I don’t think Yama will be bothered by the big moment. If anything, I think he'll thrive in that,” Gomes said of the three-time Japanese Pacific League MVP in his first MLB season.

Shohei Ohtani, a strong MVP candidate in his first NL season as the Dodgers' designated hitter, is not expected to pitch as he continues to rehab from elbow surgery in September 2023.

In the AL, the Kansas City Royals defeated the Baltimore Orioles in their series and now play against the New York Yankees.

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