ANAHEIM — Intent on resuming his injury-plagued season, Angels left-hander Yusei Kikuchi took the latest step on his road to recovery when he threw 34 pitches against a pair of teammates on Tuesday afternoon.
Kikuchi’s throwing session against hitters was his first since pitching in a game on April 29 against the Chicago White Sox, when he was removed after two innings. He was diagnosed with left shoulder inflammation and has been on the injured list ever since.
“Just getting through my first live BP without any issues is the biggest thing, so I’m really grateful for that,” Kikuchi said through an interpreter.
The session simulated a two-inning outing, with Kikuchi throwing 17 pitches in each inning and getting a rest in between. The left-handed swinging Wade Meckler and the right-handed swinging Denzer Guzman served as the hitters.
“He looked good, he looked crisp,” Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said. “He was throwing some good breaking balls, some good splits. He threw all his pitches, and that was a good sign. Everything came out looking great so that’s very encouraging.”
Kikuchi, 35, said he will have one more live throwing session, likely over the weekend, and then expects to begin a minor-league rehab assignment. Assuming there are no setbacks, Kikuchi expects to pitch every fifth day while increasing his workload each time he takes the mound.
The progression could simulate a spring training buildup and have the 2025 All-Star back on the mound when rosters expand in September.
“I don’t think putting timetables on it is fair to him or anybody else,” Suzuki said. “We’ll take it day by day and see how he feels tomorrow, and kind of keep his progression going.
“If he stays on schedule and keeps feeling good every time, you will be where we need to be. But I think for now, it’s just see how he recovers, see how he’s feeling, and then kind of take it from there.”
By all accounts, Kikuchi was feeling just fine while on the mound.
“Today’s target velo was 94 (mph) and I was able to hit that,” he said. “That was one good thing about today. No issues physically so that’s another great thing. We’re pretty much on schedule with the rehab schedule we made in May and everything’s going well.”
Kikuchi made seven starts this season before he was shut down and went 0-3 with a 5.81 ERA. He was 7-11 with a 3.99 ERA in 2025, his first season with the Angels after three seasons each with the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays, as well as a half-season with the Houston Astros.
WALKING A FINE LINE
Nolan Schanuel’s revival of late has come from a line-drive approach that has yielded a .352 batting average over the previous 23 games (100 plate appearances). While he had 31 hits over that stretch, just seven were for extra bases.
Even though Schanuel plays at a premium power position – first base – Suzuki has no complaints about what he is seeing from his usual No. 3 hitter.
“He’s kind of getting himself in the groove and throwing line drives out there,” Suzuki said. “I always tell him, don’t get bored with those line drives. He’s showing everybody he’s a good hitter. I think that’s something that’s hard to do in this game with this pitching nowadays is to do what he’s been doing.”
TALL AND SHORT OF IT
Seven-foot-9 UC Irvine basketball center Oliver Rioux threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Tuesday’s game, and the catcher was the shortest player on the Angels’ roster in 5-9 Wade Meckler.
Rioux, a transfer from Florida, is set to make his Anteaters debut in the fall.
While players and staff of the UCI men’s basketball program had access to a suite, the team watched the game from seats in the stands.
ALSO
Right-hander Ben Joyce pitched in the Arizona Complex League and faced two batters Monday, giving up a hit while recording an out. Joyce, who has not pitched for the Angels this season after right shoulder surgery last year, now has four outings in the ACL since July 7 and has allowed three runs on six hits over three innings.
Infielder Adam Frazier (elbow) and catcher Travis d’Arnaud (foot) each continued their rehab assignments Tuesday with Triple-A Salt Lake. “(We’ll) kind of see how they feel tomorrow to evaluate to see when the next game they’ll play is,” Suzuki said.
UP NEXT
Cardinals (RHP Hunter Dobbins, 1-1, 4.03 ERA) at Angels (LHP Reid Detmers, 3-6, 4.16 ERA), Wednesday, 1:07 p.m., ABTV, 830 AM, 1330 AM