Chapman's 2 home runs help Blue Jays fend off Tigers for 8th victory in 9 games

After spending about three weeks on the injured list, Yusei Kikuchi didn't want to come off the field.

Kikuchi struck out five and gave up one run to earn the win as the Toronto Blue Jays held off the Detroit Tigers for a 5-3 win on Thursday. It was Kikuchi's first start for the Blue Jays since July 5, spending time on the injured list with a strained neck.

After finishing the fifth inning with back-to-back strikeouts, Kikuchi asked interim Toronto manager John Schneider to stay in the game.

"We're going to need these kinds of outings from him going forward for us to get to where we want to go. So he was great about it."

Kikuchi (4-5) held the Tigers to two hits and a walk, throwing just 67 pitches. It was his first win since a 4-1 decision in Tampa Bay on June 30.

"The first thing I actually told Schneider was that 'I'm starving, I want to keep going,"' said Kikuchi through translator Kevin Ando. "But I did understand that I was on a pitch count after not throwing for a while.

Working with Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker has saved Kikuchi's season. The 31-year-old lefty has been struggling with his command all year until Walker helped Kikuchi find his natural throwing motion during his stint on the IL.

"Pete came up to me and said 'hey, look, whenever we do any sort of fielding work, you get it to first base or whichever base right on the money almost every time,"' Kikuchi said. "So what he was saying was that was basically my natural arm slot, maybe.

"So we put together a throwing program to get me in a more athletic position, just letting the natural arm slot work."

Matt Chapman had a two-run homer and added a solo shot to lead Toronto's (55-44) offence. Alejandro Kirk had an RBI single and added a double, going