(File Photo: Source for Photo: Los Angeles Angels’ Yusei Kikuchi delivers a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Yusei Kikuchi pitched six scoreless innings and earned his first win of the season as the Los Angeles Angels beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 on Saturday night.

Kikuchi (1-5) allowed five hits and three walks while striking out six in his third start since returning Aug. 23 from left shoulder inflammation that kept him out since late April. The 35-year-old two-time All-Star last won in his final start last season, giving up one run in five innings as the Angels topped the Royals 3-2 on Sept. 24, 2025.

Pirates starter Braxton Ashcraft (14-6) struck out nine, but allowed three runs on seven hits in five innings. The 26-year-old right-hander struck out seven while allowing one hit through 3 1/3 innings before Wade Meckler doubled into shallow left field with one out in the fourth. Moisés Ballesteros hit a sharp two-out single under the glove of second baseman Nick Gonzales, scoring Meckler from second.

Josh Lowe led off the fifth with a 410-foot shot to center field for his 11th homer of the season. Denzer Guzman followed with a single to left, moved to second on Adam Frazier’s sacrifice bunt and extended the lead to 3-0 by scoring on the first of Zach Neto’s three singles.

Esmerlyn Valdez walked and Bryan Reynolds singled to start the sixth for Pittsburgh. Kikuchi then struck out Oneil Cruz, forced Nick Gonzales into a force out and erased the threat by getting Rafael Flores Jr. to fly out to center.

The Angels tacked on three runs in the seventh. Mike Trout hit an RBI single through the left side of the infield and Meckler drove in two more with a double to right-center.

Reynolds hit a two-out home run, his 16th of the season and first since July 28. It was a 421-foot shot over the right-field wall in the eighth for the Pirates’ lone run.

Up next

Pirates RHP Paul Skenes (9-11, 3.97 ERA) starts Sunday’s series finale against Angels RHP Walbert Ureña (9-9, 2.85).

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Los Angeles Angels catcher Moises Ballseteros, eft, tries unsuccessfully to tag out Pittsburgh Pirates’ Konnor Griffin, right, during the second inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)

The MLB-worst Angels (53-88) lost for the 10th time in 11 games. The Pirates have won five of six games.

Jones (3-6) blanked the Angels on three hits to win for the first time in eight starts since beating Cleveland on July 18. He struck out nine, walked one, and threw 63 of 91 pitches for strikes.

Wilber Dotel pitched two innings, and Mason Montgomery worked the ninth to complete the four-hitter and the Pirates’ ninth shutout of the season. Montgomery had his ninth save.

Ryan Johnson (3-8) was the hard-luck loser, giving up one run and four hits over six innings with six strikeouts and two walks. He has a 1.67 ERA in his last six starts and allowed zero or one run in five of those outings.

Prized rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin returned from the injured list for the Pirates and made an immediate impact when he scored the lone run from first base on Mangum’s one-out double to right field in the second inning.

Griffin had been sidelined since July 6 after undergoing surgery to repair a torn tendon in his left ring finger. The Pirates signed the 20-year-old to a nine-year, $140-million contract, the richest in franchise history, in April.

The Angels hit back-to-back singles to open the top of the second, but Jones got Christian Moore to foul out, then struck out Jose Siri and Adam Frazier. The Halos have been shut out 12 times.

Up next

Angels LHP Yusei Kikuchi (0-5, 5.65 ERA) faces RHP Braxton Ashcraft (14-5, 3.59) on Saturday night in the middle game of the series.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin (6) in action during a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Sunday, July 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Konnor Griffin is ready to get back to work.

The Pittsburgh Pirates rookie shortstop said Thursday that he feels good and is hopeful of being activated off the 60-day injured list on Friday when Pittsburgh opens a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels.

The 20-year-old Griffin hasn’t played since early July due to an issue with the knuckle on the ring finger of his left hand. Griffin wore a splint for about six weeks and has played a handful of games while on a rehab assignment.

“It’s been driving me nuts watching the games on my phone,” said Griffin, who signed a massive contract extension in April shortly after making his debut. “It’ll be fun to finally be back in there competing.”

The Pirates have fallen off the pace in the National League playoff race in Griffin’s absence. Pittsburgh entered Thursday’s game against San Francisco 5 1/2 games back of the final wild card spot.

Pittsburgh remains intent on having Griffin return this season. The team says the risk of re-injury is small and it’s important to get him more experience during the nascent stage of his career.

“He’s a huge piece of the offense, defense, base-running, everything that goes on,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said after a 5-2 win over San Francisco on Thursday. “Anytime we can get him back, certainly not expecting him to pick up maybe exactly where he left off, just want Konnor to go out there, have fun, play baseball and do what he does to help us win.”

Griffin has been electric at times. He’s hitting .276 with five homers, 25 RBIs and 20 stolen bases in 59 games during a season that’s been disrupted by multiple trips to the injured list.

“It’s just cool to see how my body has been able to overcome these injuries,” he said. “I feel like it’s a good sign for me. I’m pumped to be back here.”

Perhaps most importantly, Griffin is pain-free.

“I did some grip strength testing,” he said. “Those numbers were actually a lot higher than they should have been, which was a good sign for me. That gave me a lot of confidence, squeezing a bat, squeezing a glove wasn’t gonna be an issue.”