Yusei Kikuchi finally got back in the win column, and he did it with one of his cleanest outings of the season.
The Angels left-hander threw six scoreless innings Saturday at PNC Park, leading Los Angeles to a 6-1 win over the Pirates. It was Kikuchi’s first victory since Sept. 24, 2025, and his first win in nine starts during an injury-riddled 2026 campaign in which he had been carrying a 5.65 ERA.
This time, though, he was in control from the start. Kikuchi (1-5) allowed five hits and three walks while striking out six, and Pittsburgh went 0-for-6 against him with runners in scoring position.
The Angels needed it, too. They entered the night with an MLB-worst 53-88 record and had won only one of their previous 11 games. Saturday also marked just the fourth time in 19 games that they scored at least four runs.
The offense gave Kikuchi support early and kept it coming. Wade Meckler doubled twice, Zach Neto finished with three hits, Mike Trout added two hits, and Josh Lowe launched his 11th home run of the season. Los Angeles put three runs on Braxton Ashcraft, who took the loss after giving up seven hits in five innings.
Ashcraft finished 14-6.
The Pirates avoided the shutout in the eighth when Bryan Reynolds lined a solo homer off Luke Murphy, breaking up what would have been the Angels’ 12th shutout of the season. Reynolds went 3-for-3 with a walk. Kikuchi, meanwhile, walked off with the kind of outing the Angels have been waiting on for a long time.
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