Angels’ Yusei Kikuchi Exits Sunday’s Game With Unfortunate Injury After Dominant Start

Shortly after his exit, the Halos announced that ankle irritation was the cause for Kikuchi's departure.

Kikuchi was amid an outing that allowed just three hits and an earned run over 5.2 innings. He hurled seven strikeouts during this time to just four walks.

On the season, Kikuchi has a 3.50 ERA to go along with 50 strikeouts over 54 innings. During the back half of 2024, the southpaw threw a 2.70 ERA in 10 appearances for the Houston Astros on his way to earning a three-year, $63 million deal with the Halos this offseason.

Even before his electric end to last season, the Angels had been monitoring Kikuchi as a dependable piece for their future.

“He obviously had a strong finish with Houston after the trade, but we really like what we saw before that, too,” general manager Perry Minasian said this past offseason. “When you look at his underlying numbers -- the strikeouts, the walks -- that was a quality year overall. And for our rotation, we wanted guys who attack the strike zone. And durability is very, very important. And we wanted some swing and miss. So he fits all those things -- and his makeup, obviously.”

The hope now is that Kikuchi can avoid an injured list stint and still make his next start. After taking the first two games in the Freeway Series against the Dodgers, the Halos were up 4-1 when their starting pitcher went down and were threatening to sweep the defending champions.

Although he left early, Kikuchi is in line to collect his first win in an Angels uniform in what would be a bittersweet end to a turbulent Sunday.