ANAHEIM --Yusei Kikuchi’s comeback trail began on Thursday, and he’s one of several injured Angels nearing a return, along with infielder Adam Frazier, catcher Sebastián Rivero and reliever Ben Joyce.
Kikuchi, who has been sidelined since May 3 due to left shoulder inflammation, made his first rehab appearance for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga against the San Jose Giants. The veteran left-hander allowed six runs (four earned) in three innings and threw 36 of 53 pitches for strikes. Kikuchi allowed six hits, struck out five batters and didn’t issue a walk.
He explained before Friday's 6-2 loss to the Brewers that PitchCom wasn’t available during his start, so he went with rudimentary signs to the catcher to call his pitches. Kikuchi thought the opposing players figured it out and knew what was coming.
“The pitch count was the most important, but we learned that they didn't have PitchCom when we got there, so we had to make something up on the spot,” Kikuchi said through interpreter Koki Goto. “I knew that if I shook off the catcher's sign one or two times, it would be a clock violation, so that's why I made a really simplified version of a sign, which I put on myself. Everyone in the dugout was looking at me, giving the signs. I heard some voices from their dugout, so they knew everything.”
Kikuchi laughed it off and said he felt fine physically, reaching 97 mph, which was one of his goals. He threw live sessions against hitters on July 21 and July 25 before he was deemed ready to begin his rehab assignment. He’s expected to make at least two more appearances before returning to the Majors, likely in mid-August, and his next rehab outing will come with Triple-A Salt Lake on Tuesday.
“Feeling good the next day, it was very important for me,” Kikuchi said. “I'm glad that I feel nothing in my shoulder right now. I felt good from the bullpen, so that's a good thing, and getting the target velo was also important.”
The San Jose squad hit a trio of home runs in the third inning against Kikuchi, including a no-doubt homer from Josuar Gonzalez, MLB Pipeline’s top Giants prospect and the No. 15 prospect in baseball. It was the first Single-A homer from Gonzalez, who was recently promoted from the Rookie-level ACL Giants.
Frazier and Rivero are also both rehabbing at Rancho Cucamonga, but weren’t in the lineup on Thursday. Frazier went 1-for-4 in Friday’s 3-0 win over San Jose and Rivero was held out again, but both are expected to remain at Single-A through at least Sunday. Rivero, though, can be optioned to the Minors once he’s healthy, while the Angels will have to decide who to send down once Frazier is healthy.
Joyce made his third relief appearance with Salt Lake on Thursday, allowing two runs while recording two outs. The flamethrowing reliever is also considered close to being activated, and it could come as soon as next week.
But with Joyce not quite ready, the Angels selected right-hander Luke Murphy’s contract from Double-A Rocket City before Friday’s series opener against the Brewers. Murphy, 26, posted a 0.71 ERA with 47 strikeouts and 10 walks in 38 innings with Rocket City to earn his first callup, and said he was emotional when he first found out.
“I just put my head down and started bawling,” said Murphy, a fourth-round pick out of Vanderbilt in 2021. “It’s something I've been looking forward to for quite some time. I was not expecting that at all. I was just trying to take it one day at a time and trying to trust the process. It was one of the greatest days of my life.”
Murphy threw a scoreless eighth inning in his Major League debut on Friday despite issuing two walks. He also recorded his first career strikeout, catching Jackson Chourio looking with a 1-2 fastball before getting Christian Yelich to ground out on 2-2 cutter to end the inning.
“You could see a little bit of nerves in there,” manager Kurt Suzuki said. “Obviously, first time in the big leagues. You could see some overthrowing. All normal stuff, but I think for him to get out of that was neat. I know he was relieved to come in with a zero, so that was good for him.”