It was one of his finest performances on Friday night, but eight innings from Yusei Kikuchi wasn’t enough for the Blue Jays to down the visiting Minnesota Twins.

Toronto, however, is hopeful that can change Saturday afternoon, as they get a look at someone who was once in the organization. The Twins are sending out Simeon Woods Richardson to the mound for his fourth start in the big leagues.

Woods Richardson was drafted by the Mets in the 2nd round of the 2018 draft, but was acquired by the Jays in July 2019 alongside Anthony Kay in exchange for Marcus Stroman and cash. He would spend the next two years — almost to the day — in the Blue Jays organization, building up his game in the Single-A and Double-A ranks before he was on the move again.

In July 2021, he and Auston Martin were sent to Minnesota in exchange for Jose Berrios, a deal that has paid dividends for the Jays over the past few years.

Woods Richardson was called up to the Twins in late April, taking a spot in the rotation from Louis Varland, and has been given ample opportunity to earn his spot. Through four starts, he’s thrown 20 and two thirds innings of 1.74 ERA, and is coming off an eight strikeout performance against the Seattle Mariners last week.

3:07 p.m. EST. TV & Radio: Sportsnet.

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Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.