Kikuchi shakes off line-drive scare, wraps All-Star first half with a 'W'

ANAHEIM -- Lefty Yusei Kikuchi will head to his second career All-Star Game with some momentum after turning in another solid start, though he suffered an injury scare after being hit on the left shoulder by a line drive from Josh Naylor in the sixth inning of Saturday night’s game against the D-backs.

Kikuchi, the club’s lone All-Star representative this year, allowed three runs on six hits over 5 2/3 innings in his final outing of the first half to help the Angels to a 10-5 win over Arizona. But he was hit by Naylor’s 105 mph comebacker with two outs in the sixth, remaining in the game to face Randal Grichuk.

Kikuchi gave up an RBI single that ended his night, though he said after the game that he believes he’ll be fine and has been satisfied with the way he’s pitched with his new club this season.

"I think, for the most part, I've kept the team in games,” Kikuchi said through interpreter Yosuke Oshima. “That's my job to do that, and the team's always been grinding in this first half. I think we're in a great position. We're in a position where we could play for that last Wild Card spot. I'm looking forward to the second half.”

Kikuchi had already elected to not pitch in this year’s Midsummer Classic on Tuesday at Atlanta’s Truist Park, having been replaced by Tampa Bay’s Drew Rasmussen on Thursday. He cited wanting to be fresh for the second half because the Angels have surprisingly remained in contention. And it turned out to be a good idea, especially after the liner to his pitching shoulder.

"There was a part of me that wanted to throw [on Tuesday], but I pitched today,” Kikuchi said. “Just thinking about having a throw again in three days, I kind of didn't want to do that. Again, I want to put the team first.”

Otherwise, Kikuchi was solid on Saturday, striking out five and allowing solo homers to Eugenio Suárez in the second and fourth innings. Kikuchi, who joined the club this offseason on a three-year deal worth $63 million, finishes the first half with a 3.11 ERA in 20 starts, with 115 strikeouts in 113 innings.

"He was great,” interim manager Ray Montgomery said. “A couple pitches to Suárez there, and he's pretty good. I think he's done that about 30 times. He was good. Just some caution with that ball that hit off his arm. But he seems fine."

Kikuchi received plenty of run support, as the Angels knocked Zac Gallen around for six runs on eight hits over five innings, with every Angels batter in the starting lineup recording a hit. They loaded the bases in the first, scoring on an RBI forceout from Taylor Ward and tacked on three runs in the fourth, keyed by doubles from Jo Adell and Travis d’Arnaud.

Ward, Adell and d’Arnaud are all major reasons why the Angels have hung around .500 and remain in the AL Wild Card race.

"Obviously, everybody feels good when they can contribute to something like that,” Montgomery said. “We did a good job bringing home runners in scoring position and getting them into that position. Just doing the little things. It was fun."

Superstar Mike Trout got in on the action with a two-run homer to right field in the fifth inning. It was his 17th of the year and the 395th of his career. He’s aiming to become the second active player with 400 career homers, joining Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton (432).

It proved to be key, with the D-backs scoring two runs in the eighth against reliever José Fermin, before the Angels tacked on some insurance runs in the bottom of the frame, including RBI singles from Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel and a two-run single from Trout. Trout had four RBIs, giving him 994 in his career.

Trout, a three-time AL MVP and 11-time All-Star, said he’s aware he’s getting close to both the 400-homer and 1,000-RBI milestones but it’s hard to put it in perspective at this point in his career. The 33-year-old is in his 15th big league season and remains under contract with the Angels through 2030.

"Just to think about it, and how fast it’s gone, I’m just trying to enjoy every moment of it,” Trout said. “I mean, yeah, it's a lot of homers, but I still got a lot left in me.”