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Kikuchi didn't factor into the decision Monday against the Yankees, allowing four runs on four hits and four walks while striking out three over 3.1 innings.
Kikuchi ran into trouble early in both the first and second innings, allowing leadoff baserunners before serving up homers to Aaron Judge and Trent Grisham, respectively. The left-hander was pulled in the fourth after issuing a walk to Paul Goldschmidt, ending another disappointing start. The 34-year-old has now allowed at least four runs in each of his last three outings, and his season numbers have taken a hit as a result. Through 18 innings, Kikuchi owns a 7.50 ERA, 1.89 WHIP and a 19:10 K:BB.
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Angels' Yusei Kikuchi: Posts uneven start Tuesday
Rotowire
Kikuchi (0-2) took the loss against Atlanta on Tuesday, allowing four runs on six hits and one walk while striking out eight batters over five innings.
Kikuchi was handed a two-run lead in the first inning, but he couldn't hang onto it. Atlanta tagged the right-hander for a run in the second, but it was the fourth inning that really did him in, as Kikuchi gave up three runs on three hits and a walk in that frame. The outing wasn't entirely disastrous for Kikuchi -- he managed to rack up 15 whiffs and a season-high eight punchouts -- but he's now 0-2 with a poor 6.75 ERA through three starts. He'll try to turn things around in his next outing, though he's in line for a tough matchup in New York against the Yankees.
Angels' Yusei Kikuchi: Crumbles in third inning Wednesday
Rotowire
Kikuchi (0-1) took the loss Wednesday against the Cubs, allowing five runs on six hits and four walks in 5.1 innings. He struck out five.
Although Kikuchi managed to keep the ball in the yard, the four free passes he piled up came back to haunt him a bit. Two of which came in the third inning, when the Cubs strung together five hits and tagged the left-hander for each of his five runs allowed. Kikuchi's next start is scheduled for next week at home against Atlanta, and he'll be aiming to get back on track after yielding seven runs across his first 9.2 innings of 2026.
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Angels' Yusei Kikuchi: Settles for no-decision Friday
Rotowire
Kikuchi didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 6-2 win over the Astros, giving up two runs on eight hits and a walk over 4.1 innings. He struck out three.
The Angels grabbed a 4-1 lead in the top of the second inning and never trailed the rest of the way, but Kikuchi couldn't last long enough to qualify for the win, getting lifted after 86 pitches (53 strikes) after Yordan Alvarez led off the Houston half of the fifth with a solo homer, following by a one-out Jose Altuve single. Kikuchi has become a reliable innings-eater over the last few years, making at least 32 starts in each of the last three seasons split between the Blue Jays, Astros and Halos with a 3.97 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 9.7 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9, so better days should be ahead for the left-hander. Kikuchi is set to make his next start on the road next week against the Cubs.
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Angels' Yusei Kikuchi: Starting Game 2 with no limitations
Rotowire
Kikuchi is slated to start the Angels' second game of the regular season -- which will take place Friday, March 27 in Houston -- and is expected to be "full-go" for that outing, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
Kikuchi spent much of his time this spring with Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic, but he had a small workload, tossing just four innings across two appearances and giving up three runs on seven hits with a 5:0 K:BB. The southpaw recently returned to the Angels and started against the Royals on Thursday, tossing 4.2 innings during which he allowed one run on two hits and three walks while fanning two batters. Kikuchi worked up to just 64 pitches in the start, but even with Opening Day just a week away, it sounds like the club feels that Kikuchi will be able to handle a full workload right away.
Kikuchi (forearm) faced live hitters Wednesday in his first throwing session of spring training, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
Kikuchi exited his final start of 2025 on Sept. 24 due to what the Angels called a left forearm cramp. The veteran southpaw looks to have had a normal offseason and appears to be ahead of most of the rest of the pitching staff, as Kikuchi is set to leave the team in the coming days to join Team Japan ahead of the World Baseball Classic. Per Bollinger, first-year manager Kurt Suzuki said Tuesday that Kikuchi is one of three pitchers locked into rotation spots, and the 34-year-old could get the nod for Opening Day versus the Astros.
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