Kikuchi (3-2) took the loss Saturday as the Mariners were downed 6-5 by the A's, giving up five runs (four earned) on 10 hits and a walk over 3.1 innings while striking out one.
Aside from his one-inning outing when he was intentionally used as an opener April 26, this was the shortest start of Kikuchi's North American career to date. The southpaw threw 45 of 74 pitches for strikes, and Oakland got runners into scoring position in every inning until Kikuchi got the hook. He'll carry a 3.82 ERA and 50:15 K:BB through 63.2 innings into his next outing Thursday, at home against the Angels.