Yusei

Kikuchi

Kikuchi pitched well, but Zack Wheeler pitched better, so Kikuchi is now 0-5 on the season. The 35-year-old gave up a pair of solo homers, and unfortunately for the southpaw and the Angels, that was enough to prevent the victory. Kikuchi will hope to get some run support and pitch at a similar level against the Pirates in Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Kikuchi, who had been out since the end of April with shoulder inflammation, gave up eight runs in his last rehab start, so this was an improvement. Ezequiel Duran and Elias Díaz homered for two of the 11 hard-hit balls he gave up. Kikuchi is 0-4 with a 6.30 ERA this season. He’ll probably make his next start next Sunday against the Phillies.

Kikuchi will make his long-awaited return to the Angels’ rotation on Sunday afternoon against the Rangers. The 35-year-old southpaw had been shelved since the end of April due to inflammation in his pitching shoulder. Fantasy managers should take a wait-and-see approach here instead of throwing him right back to the wolves on Sunday.

The 35-year-old southpaw struck out eight batters in the contest while issuing a pair of walks. Seven of those eight runs came during the first inning, after which he settled in nicely. He threw 80 pitches (56 strikes) in the ballgame, so physically he’s probably ready to rejoin the Angels’ rotation over the weekend unless they want to see him have success in a minor league setting first.

Dodgers prospect James Tibbs III homered for one of the six hits off Kikuchi. He got up to 69 pitches tonight. opening up the possibility that he could rejoin the Angels rotation next weekend. He has been out since Apr. 30 with shoulder inflammation.

Kikuchi struck out four but walked five and threw 30 of his 57 pitches for strikes. His four-seamer touched 96.5 mph but was mainly around 94 mph, which is not far off from what we see when he’s 100 percent. The command was obviously rusty in this one, and we’d expect him to make at least two more rehab starts with the Angels having no incentive to rush him back to the big leagues this season.

Kikuchi is at least a couple weeks away from returning to Los Angeles since he’ll need to build up his pitch count and stamina over a couple rehab starts. The 35-year-old southpaw is working his way back from shoulder inflammation that put him to the injured list back in early May. He opted for the rest-and-rehabilitation route instead of season-ending surgery and should make it back to the Angels’ rotation in mid-to-late August.

Kikuchi should be ready to head out on a minor league rehab assignment fairly soon. The 35-year-old southpaw has been working his way back from shoulder inflammation that sent him to the injured list back in early May. He opted for the rest-and-rehabilitation route instead of season-ending surgery. There’s a chance he’s back at some point in mid-to-late August.

Kikuchi’s bullpen session was the first since he was shut down with his shoulder injury. The left-hander will assuredly need to complete a few more sessions — and then at least a pair of rehab starts — before he could be an option for the Angels’ rotation later in the second half of the season.

Nothing has changed in the prognosis for the 34-year-old hurler, this was done as a procedural move on Friday to free up a spot on the team’s 40-man roster for the promotion of Wade Meckler and Donovan Walton. Kikuchi is dealing with inflammation in his pitching shoulder and has been shut down through the end of May before he starts to build back up again.