Kikuchi Dominates as Angels Outlast A's Despite Clarke’s Heroics
Man, what a game we had in Anaheim last night. The Los Angeles Angels came out strong and stayed locked in as they took down the Oakland Athletics 7-4 — and let me tell you, it was all about Yusei Kikuchi setting the tone from the very first pitch. This guy was on another level. He went into the 8th inning carrying a one-hit shutout, and his command was surgical. Only one walk, five strikeouts, and complete control of the strike zone. That’s the kind of presence on the mound you love to see, especially from someone who’s been working on getting deeper into games. This was his longest outing of the season — 7 1/3 innings — and it came right when the bullpen needed a break.
The only hit Kikuchi gave up early was a solid single to Max Muncy in the fifth, but even then, he kept his composure. A quick mound visit later, and boom — inning ended, no damage. The way he mixed that fastball with the slider was just lethal. A’s hitters looked uncomfortable and couldn’t get much going until Kikuchi was out of the game. Honestly, this might’ve been the best we’ve seen him in an Angels jersey so far.
Offensively, the Angels had their rhythm going early. In the third inning, they strung together three straight RBI singles from Zach Neto, Nolan Schanuel, and Mike Trout — all off Jeffrey Springs. That really opened things up and gave the Angels a comfortable lead to build on. Jo Adell added his 12th homer of the year in the fourth, then capped it off with a two-run single in the eighth. The man’s been red-hot lately, and he gave Kikuchi the support he needed.
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Now, we have to talk about Denzel Clarke. Even though the A's lost, Clarke made one of the most jaw-dropping catches you’ll ever see — climbing the center field wall and straight-up robbing Schanuel of a home run in the first inning. I mean, it was the play of the game, and it was so good that even Schanuel had to laugh about it afterward. He said it’ll probably be shown for years to come — and he’s probably right.
Even when the A’s tried to rally late with home runs from Muncy and JJ Bleday, the Angels' early lead and Kikuchi’s dominance were just too much to overcome. Connor Brogdon and Ryan Zeferjahn cleaned things up out of the bullpen to secure the win.
In the end, it was a complete performance from the Angels — solid pitching, timely hitting, and even with Clarke making history in center, they walked away with a well-earned win. Let’s see if they can keep that momentum going in game two.
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