Yusei Kikuchi gets back on track despite Angels' loss to Padres
Yusei Kikuchi pitched six scoreless innings and struck out eight, but San Diego got the better of the Los Angeles bullpen.
The Los Angeles Angels Yusei Kikuchi #16 pitches during an MLB game against the San Diego Padres, April 18th, 2026 in Anaheim California. ANAHEIM, Calif. - Yusei Kikuchi went into Saturday night needing a win.
Not necessarily in the record books, though that would've been nice too. The win that Kikuchi was looking for was more in a personal sense. With a relatively young rotation, Kikuchi is a steady veteran presence, but had a rocky start to the season going into Saturday.
Through four starts, he was sitting at a 7. 50 ERA and stuck with two losses and two no-decisions. That's what made Saturday night's start against the San Diego Padres so impactful.
"Kikuchi was pretty amazing. He was throwing hard. He was using his fastball, attacking it.