Japanese pitcher Yusei Kikuchi (Los Angeles Angels) was hit by a home run from his high school junior Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Dodgers).

Kikuchi started on the mound on the 1st (Korean time) in a spring training game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the 2025 Major League Baseball in Glendale, Arizona. It was his first appearance in spring training.

The Dodgers had Shohei Ohtani (designated hitter), Mookie Betts (shortstop), Tommy Edman (second baseman), Will Smith (catcher), Max Muncy (third baseman), Kiké Hernández (center fielder), Michael Conforto (left fielder), Miguel Rojas (first baseman), and Andy Pajes (right fielder) starting.

In the first inning, Kikuchi faced Japanese hitter Ohtani first. The two players have a special connection. Kikuchi and Ohtani are alumni of Hanamaki Higashi High School in Japan. Ohtani had a career batting average of .300 (7 hits in 23 at-bats), 3 home runs, and 5 RBIs against Kikuchi until last year in Major League Baseball.

Kikuchi started with an outside four-seam fastball (95.7 mph) for a strike against Ohtani. The second pitch curveball was a high ball. On the third pitch, Ohtani swung and missed at a curveball outside. The fourth pitch was a bounced ball. The fifth pitch was a 95 mph four-seam fastball that went outside. On a full count, he threw a 93.9 mph (151.1 km) four-seam fastball, and Ohtani hit a powerful swing to launch a home run over the left-field wall.

After giving up a home run to Ohtani, Kikuchi allowed Betts to reach first base with an infield single. The first baseman's ground ball was thrown to Kikuchi, who was covering the base, but the throw was a bad throw that went wide. The record was a hit. Edman hit a single between the shortstop and second baseman, creating an opportunity with runners on first and third base.

Kikuchi struck out Smith with an 80.5 mph curveball for his first out. He allowed Muncy a sacrifice fly to center field, yielding the second run. After two outs, Kikuchi issued a walk to Hernández on a full count, continuing the two-out, one and two-base crisis.

Then, the manager came up from the Angels bench to change pitchers. Eventually, Kikuchi was replaced after throwing 26 pitches. This was Kikuchi's first appearance in spring training. It seemed he planned to pitch around 25 pitches. Camden Minatch came on as a relief pitcher. Conforto ended the inning with a fly out to the third baseman.

However, Kikuchi, who was replaced after throwing 26 pitches in the first inning, returned to the mound in the second inning. This is possible under special spring training rules. Kikuchi's second appearance was different from the first.

Kikuchi struck out leadoff hitter Rojas with a 93.9 mph four-seam fastball for a three-pitch strikeout. He got Pajes looking with a 79.3 mph curveball for a second strikeout. After getting two outs, Kikuchi faced Ohtani for the second time. Following a curveball on the first pitch, he threw a 94.9 mph four-seam fastball for a strike on the second pitch. The third pitch was an 81.3 mph curveball that got Ohtani to pop out to the shortstop.

After throwing 37 pitches in the second inning, Kikuchi returned to the mound in the third inning. He got Betts to fly out to right field and Edman out with a ground ball to the third baseman, securing two outs. He handled Smith with a ground ball to the first baseman. He finished the second consecutive inning in a row without allowing any runs.

Kikuchi recorded 2⅔ innings pitched, allowing 3 hits, 1 home run, 1 walk, and striking out 3 while giving up 2 runs. He was slightly shaken after giving up a leadoff home run to Ohtani in the first inning, but he ended the second and third innings with perfect pitching.

Meanwhile, Kikuchi has appeared in a total of 166 games (154 starts) in Major League Baseball until last year, pitching 809⅔ innings while recording 41 wins, 47 losses, and an earned run average of 4.57. Kikuchi signed a three-year, $63 million free agent contract with the Angels in November last year after playing for the Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, and Houston Astros.

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