Kikuchi will make a normal start Saturday against the Angels, but will have his first "short" start in one of the two starts after that, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.
The Mariners announced before the start of the year that they were going to limit Kikuchi to one inning pitched in several starts this year to help ease the transition to the more rigorous MLB schedule. The first one of those starts should occur sometime in the next two weeks, either against the Rangers on April 26 or against the Cubs on May 1.