Yusei Kikuchi leads Los Angeles Angels to victory against Pittsburgh Pirates

Yusei Kikuchi earned his first win since September 2025, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 6-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on Saturday. Kikuchi held the Pirates to five hits and three walks while striking out six over six innings. The Angels broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning on a Moises Ballesteros ground ball and extended their lead with a Josh Lowe solo home run in the fifth. Isaac Mattson surrendered three runs in the seventh inning to put the game out of reach, despite a late solo home run from Bryan Reynolds. The loss snapped a recent streak of success for Pirates starter Braxton Ashcraft, who had helped the team win each of his previous five starts. Paul Skenes is scheduled to face Walbert Ureña in the series finale on Sunday.

• 1:55 AMYahoo Sports — Pirates shut down by Kikuchi, thumped by lowly Angels