Kikuchi (3-3) was roughed up Thursday, pitching 3.1 innings and giving up six runs on 10 hits and two walks in a loss to the Angels. He did not strike out a batter.
For his second consecutive start, Kikuchi managed to get only 10 outs before being chased from the game. He struggled with his control, throwing 33 of 73 pitches for balls, and induced only a single swinging strike. After a promising run of four consecutive quality starts tinged with flashes of brilliance, Kikuchi has now given up 10 earned runs in his last 6.2 innings to raise his season ERA to a mediocre 4.43. He'll try to shake the growing pains in a tough matchup against Houston on Tuesday in his next scheduled start.