Kikuchi (9-10) took the loss Wednesday against Seattle, allowing two unearned on four hits and one walk while striking out eight in six innings.
Kikuchi was excellent Wednesday, shutting out the Mariners through five innings before an unfortunate error in the sixth resulted in two unearned runs crossing the plate, giving Kikuchi his first loss since he was acquired by the Astros in late July. The 33-year-old veteran has been a revelation since coming over from Toronto at the All-Star break, posting a 5-1 record with an elite 2.70 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 76:14 K:BB in 60 innings (10 starts). The southpaw will close out the regular season with a 4.05 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and a career-best 206 strikeouts in 175.2 innings (32 starts).