Backed by a 14-hit attack, rookie pitcher Yusei Kikuchi earned his second win of the season in the Seattle Mariners' 10-1 victory over the New York Yankees in the Bronx on Wednesday.
Kikuchi (2-1), who was making his ninth start, limited the damage to one run on three hits and one walk in 7-2/3 innings. The Japanese lefty retired 16 straight batters, three on strikeouts, after he issued a leadoff walk to DJ LeMahieu in the first inning.
"I just wanted to guide the team to a win, and I was completely absorbed in my pitching," Kikuchi said.
"I threw a good balance of sliders and curveballs. I was really looking forward to pitching at Yankee Stadium," he said.
Kikuchi yielded a bloop double to Mike Tauchman with one out in the sixth for New York's first hit. Tauchman came around to score on a Luke Voit sacrifice fly, making it 5-1.
Kikuchi threw 106 pitches, 74 for strikes, to outduel Jonathan Loaisiga (1-1). Loaisiga was pulled after four innings. He was charged with four runs and six hits.
For the Mariners, Ryon Healy went 4-for-5 with three doubles and a two-run homer. Edwin Encarnacion and Mitch Haniger also went deep.
At Comerica Park in Detroit, designated hitter Shohei Ohtani started in the No. 3 spot for the second straight game, but was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in the Los Angeles Angels' 10-3 defeat to the Detroit Tigers.
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Ohtani, who went 0-for-4 in his season debut on Tuesday after returning from Tommy John surgery, was hit by a pitch by Matthew Boyd (4-2) in the sixth inning, directly on the protective guard he wears on his right elbow.
"(The ball) barely brushed past me so I'm not even sure where it hit," Ohtani said.
At Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, Yoshihisa Hirano got one out in the eighth as the Arizona Diamondbacks edged the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2.
"I'm glad we won. (With runners on the corners and no outs) in the eighth, we only had a one-run lead and it was a threatening situation, but all I thought about was not to allow the runner at third to cross home plate," Hirano said.
