Here’s the response Whit Merrifield received from Royals fans in Blue Jays’ 4-1 win

Royals manager Matt Quatraro — knowing Toronto starter Yusei Kikuchi has been tough historically on left-handed hitters — jotted down seven right-handed batters on his lineup card Tuesday.

It still wasn’t enough to produce results against the Blue Jays’ 31-year-old veteran.

Kikuchi allowed one run and three hits in five innings of tidy work, propelling Toronto to a 4-1 victory on a warm, windy Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium.

KC’s lone run was a loud one. Franmil Reyes blistered a Kikuchi slider in the second, sending a 455-foot home run bounding over the top of the fountains in left field.

The Royals’ offense was essentially silent from there, as it combined for four hits and one walk as KC fell to 1-4.

Afterward, Quatraro said his team had some good moments against Kikuchi even if the final run total didn’t reflect it.

“I mean, he’s tough. And I think we laid off some of the tougher changeups he threw. We put some good swings on balls,” Quatraro said. “I thought we just missed a few — some balls up in the air I thought we hit on the barrel. But overall, he was efficient. He threw a lot of strikes, so he forced us to swing, and we made some quick outs when we did.”

Royals third baseman Matt Duffy said he was most impressed by Kikuchi’s command, saying other than two mistakes the pitcher made, “everything else was absolutely dotted.”

“Based on what I was seeing, he had good stuff tonight, honestly. He’s a guy that can get erratic at times, and we had talked about that in the report: Try to put pressure on him,” Duffy said. “But we were on our heels from the start.”

Missed the start of the series?

Game 1: Pregame text helped spur Royals to first win of season

Whit Merrifield applauded in return; Bobby Witt Jr. makes diving catch

Former Royals player Whit Merrifield received a nice ovation from KC fans in his first plate appearance at Kauffman Stadium since last year’s trade to Toronto.

Merrifield, who didn’t play for the Blue Jays in the series’ opening game, paused to soak in the moment in the second inning, ultimately tipping his cap to the crowd following extended applause.

Meanwhile, Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. made one of the team’s top defensive plays of the season in the first inning, ranging deep into center field before fully extending for a diving catch with his back to home plate.

Statcast tracked that Witt Jr. ran 95 feet on the play with a top speed of 28.6 feet per second.

Duffy said after the game that Witt “looked like Jim Edmonds,” referencing a catch the former Angels outfielder Edmonds made at Kauffman Stadium in 1997.

Quatraro also was wowed by the play.

“I don’t know where he came from or how he did it,” Quatraro said, “but man, that was incredible.”

Key moment

KC’s best chance to rally came in the seventh with one out and a runner on first. The Royals trailed 3-1.

Toronto left-handed reliever Tim Mayza, however, quickly put out the fire. He struck out lefties Vinnie Pasquantino and Jackie Bradley Jr. in succession, holding the lead before Toronto tacked on an insurance run the next inning.

Matt Duffy continues to impress

After making the Royals’ roster as a non-roster invitee out of spring training, Matt Duffy continues to rake when he gets the opportunity.

Duffy went 3-for-3 on Tuesday night, raising his season average to .714 (5-for-7). His five hits also lead the Royals this year despite the fact he’s started just two of five games.

“I’m definitely going to hit .700 the rest of the year,” Duffy deadpanned afterward with a smile. “Yeah, it’s good to feel good. It’s good to start well, a little exhale, you know. But as we said the other day with us struggling the first series, it’s a long season. You just try to come to the park each day, prepare yourself the same way, make adjustments if you need them. But it’s good to feel good.”

What’s next: The Royals and Blue Jays will continue their four-game series with a 6:40 p.m. contest Wednesday. The Royals’ Zack Greinke will go against the Blue Jays’ Alek Manoah.

Kevin Gausman and Jordan Lyles are the slated pitchers for the series finale at 1:10 p.m. Thursday.