Baseball: Yusei Kikuchi hurls 1-hit gem as Angels see off Athletics
KYODO NEWS - 1 hour ago - 15:02 | Sports, All
Yusei Kikuchi threw 7-1/3 innings of one-hit ball in his longest start this year as the Los Angeles Angels held on to beat the Athletics 7-4 on Monday.
Kikuchi (2-5) had six 1-2-3 innings in a 104-pitch gem to earn the win at Angel Stadium, allowing his only hit to Max Muncy with one out in the fifth inning when he also issued his solitary walk.
"I managed to use all my pitches extremely well, and getting to pitch into the eighth was huge," Kikuchi said.
Zach Neto, Nolan Schanuel and Mike Trout hit back-to-back RBI singles in the third and Jo Adell's solo home run in the fourth handed the Angels and Kikuchi a 4-0 lead.
The lefty had his fifth and last strikeout in the eighth and got the hook before reliever Connor Brogdon gave up two runs in the frame.
The Angels scored three important runs in the home half on a Trout sacrifice fly and Adell's two-run single as the Athletics scored two runs off Shaun Anderson in the ninth.
"I'm not thinking too much about myself picking up a win," Kikuchi said. "The bottom line is winning a game lifts the team, and that's what I'm happy with."
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