CHICAGO -- The Angels not only saw their losing streak get extended to six games after a winless road trip, but lefty Yusei Kikuchi exited his start with left shoulder tightness after throwing a warmup pitch before the third inning and could miss time with the injury.
It was yet another heartbreaker for the Angels, as they were one out away from a much-needed victory, only for the White Sox to tie it in the ninth, and win it in the 10th in a 3-2 loss on Wednesday at Rate Field. It was the 10th defeat over the last 11 games for the scuffling Angels, who can’t catch a break, and now could lose Kikuchi to injury.
Kikuchi said he first started to feel tightness in his shoulder while throwing fastballs in his last outing, but that it worsened against the White Sox and he’s not sure if he’ll be able to make his next start. His velocity was notably down, as his fastball averaged 94.2 mph, which was 1.4 mph lower than his season average.
“I feel tightness in my shoulder when I throw fastballs only,” Kikuchi said through interpreter Koki Goto. “I felt like I could push through if I wanted to, but I didn't want to take any chances at that moment, so I decided to step down. I’ll have to talk with the training staff and see how I feel tomorrow.”
Kikuchi threw two scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk before coming out of the game. He was met at the mound by manager Kurt Suzuki, pitching coach Mike Maddux and head athletic trainer Mike Frostad before the start of the third and was replaced by lefty Mitch Farris.
“Any time you have to come out of the game, I think it's a concern,” Suzuki said. “We'll go check it and re-evaluate it tomorrow and see how he feels and see where we're at.”
Kikuchi, 34, has struggled this year, posting a 5.81 ERA with 33 strikeouts and 14 walks in 31 innings. He’s worked to lower his arm angle in recent starts, as he experimented with a higher arm slot earlier in the season but found that it didn’t work for him. But he said he believes it’s unrelated to the stiffness.
"I don’t think that was the cause of this issue,” Kikuchi said. “I feel like my condition was getting better every start, so I'm just frustrated at the moment."
He was much better last year, when he was an All-Star for the second time in his career and posted a 3.99 ERA with 174 strikeouts in 178 1/3 innings. He joined the Angels on a three-year deal worth $63 million before last season. So if he misses time it would be a blow for the Angels, who would likely turn to a youngster from Triple-A such as Caden Dana, George Klassen or Sam Aldegheri if they need a starter.
But Farris, who was called up before the game with Joey Lucchesi designated for assignment, fared well in long relief, allowing one run on three hits over 3 2/3 innings to keep the Angels in the game.
Superstar Mike Trout tied the game in the fourth with his 10th homer of the season while Vaughn Grissom went deep for the first time since 2022 to give the Angels the lead in the seventh.
The Angels, though, couldn’t hold that lead, as right-hander Ryan Zeferjahn gave up a two-out RBI triple to Sam Antonacci just two batters after he hit Tristan Peters with an 0-2 sweeper. Zeferjahn had struck out the side in the eighth and was attempting a six-out save despite struggling in multi-inning stints this season.
“Today he was my guy that I wanted to go with,” Suzuki said. “Obviously, ideally would have been one [inning] but we felt like that when he came in for [Munetaka] Murakami and [Colson] Montgomery that was a big spot and he was pretty efficient. And then figured we'd send him out and we lost with the guy that we wanted out there.”
Zeferjahn acknowledged his struggles going back out for a second inning, but said he recently had fixed some mechanical issues and felt fine in the ninth. But it just wasn’t to be for the Angels, who lost on a walk-off RBI single from Montgomery off lefty Drew Pomeranz in the 10th.
“It’s really tough, especially just one more out and I couldn't do it,” Zeferjahn said. “We battled all day today and it really sucks. But we’re picking each other up still no matter what. I think we’ll get back on track soon.”