Ed Odeven 
Los Angeles Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi pitches against the San Diego Padres on May 12, 2025, at Petco Park in San Diego. (©GETTY IMAGES/via KYODO)
Veteran MLB starter Yusei Kikuchi is enduring a disappointing first season with the Los Angeles Angels.
The left-hander made his ninth start of the 2025 MLB season on Monday, May 12. Against the San Diego Padres, Kikuchi allowed seven hits and four runs (two earned) in six innings. He walked two and struck out four in the Angels' 9-5 victory at Petco Park.
Kikuchi left the game with the Padres leading 4-3. It was his third straight no-decision.
LA scored six runs in the top of the ninth.
"I left the game with a chance to win, and the team was able to win, which is great for me and for the future," Kikuchi was quoted as saying by NHK.
Kikuchi (0-4, 3.72 ERA) has pitched 48⅓ innings for his new team in the first year of a three-year contract. He's yielded 49 hits, including seven homers, in that span with 22 walks and 43 strikeouts.
Although he wants to be the winning pitcher whenever he steps on the mound, Kikuchi said he's not focusing on his win-loss record.
"It depends on the player what is important, but I am most concerned about pitch counts and the number of innings pitched," he said, according to NHK. "So I just want to continue to pitch well in games. I want to continue to focus on that so that I can continue to pitch well in games and prepare for them."
The Angels (17-24) are in last place in the American League West.
Mets' Senga Among MLB's Best Pitchers This Season
Heading into his eighth start of the season on Tuesday, May 12 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Mets right-hander Kodai Senga had given up zero or one run five times.
That trend then continued for Senga in the Mets' 2-1 win.
Senga (4-2, 1.22 ERA) has helped the Mets (28-15) set the pace in the National League East.
In 44⅓ innings, he's allowed 34 hits (only one home run) and fanned 42 batters. He's issued 19 walks, including five of the first 10 batters he faced in a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 7 in New York's 7-1 win in Phoenix.
That outing underscored Senga's maturity as a pitcher.
"Those first three innings were rough. I didn't have anything," Senga said through an interpreter, according to SportsNet New York. "Out of experience, I know when certain things aren't going certain ways, I have quick fixes for that. I was able to find [mechanical changes] to get me through the game."
Added Senga, "I just have certain patterns that I have tendencies of going into, and I was able to find that one pattern and fix it throughout the game."
Boston's Yoshida Eager to Make MLB Season Debut
Veteran outfielder/designated hitter Masataka Yoshida has yet to play for the Boston Red Sox this season.
Coming off offseason surgery on his right shoulder, Yoshida has rehabbed as a hitter, making solid progress this spring. Red Sox management has said that the plan is to use Yoshida in the outfield and not simply pencil him into the lineup as the everyday DH.
But Yoshida's comeback as a fielder has not gone as smoothly as hoped.
The former Orix Buffaloes star provided an update in Boston on May 6, citing pain when throwing the ball during practice.
"When I stretch out to 120 feet (36.5 meters), that's when I kind of feel the pain," Yoshida said in a clubhouse interview, according to MassLive.
Recognizing the timetable of his post-surgery recovery, trainers informed Yoshida he wouldn't be pain-free in 2025, the website reported.
That said, he's getting used to coping with the pain in his shoulder.
"That's something that I kind of have to be dealing with throughout the year," Yoshida said, according to this news report. "At least this year, I will have to deal with the pain.
"But I'm not recovering or making the progress at the pace that I wanted to. Let's put it that way."
Yoshida, who joined Boston in 2023, has said he's eager to play for the Red Sox as soon as possible.
"That's my hope," he added.
Tigers Release Struggling Pitcher Maeda
Detroit Tigers veteran pitcher Kenta Maeda was recently cut by the AL Central club.
The 37-year-old had a 0-0 record and a 7.88 ERA in seven relief appearances in 2025. His last outing was on April 29.
"It's tough because when he was good, he really helped us, and when he struggled, we really didn't get him back on track," Tigers manager AJ Hinch said, according to The Associated Press. "So it's a frustrating end to his time here."
In his first season with the Tigers, Maeda was moved from the starting rotation to the bullpen in July 2024. He finished the year with a 3-7 record and a 6.08 ERA.
Maeda made his MLB debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016, winning 16 games that season.
Dodgers' Sasaki Lands on the IL with Shoulder Pain
Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Roki Sasaki, who has a 1-1 record with a 4.72 ERA in eight starts, was placed on the injured list on Tuesday, May 13. Sasaki has been diagnosed with right shoulder impingement.
In the former Chiba Lotte Marines star's most recent start, he gave up five runs in four innings against the Diamondbacks on May 9.
That game marked the first time this year when he pitched with five days rest. (In Japan, starters are accustomed to pitching once a week.)
"Physically he was a little bit sore afterwards and that's something that we're still trying to figure out, what's normal and what's not normal," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters before Sasaki was placed on the IL.
"We want to make sure that he's in a good spot physically," added Roberts.
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Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
