MINNEAPOLIS -- Starting pitching difficulties continued for the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday morning, as they were defeated 5-1 by the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The Angels are now 12-14 and 7-10 on the road.
The squad struggled to deal with the Minnesota lineup early again as Yusei Kikuchi gave up six singles and a walk in a long and strenuous first inning. The left-hander allowed the first four batters he saw to reach base, including a pair of RBI hits from Carlos Correa and Ty France that made it 2-0.
Two batters later, Jonah Bride collected an RBI single of his own as the Twins added their third run of the opening frame to steal the early momentum. Kikuchi allowed another run to come across in the second as Correa's second RBI hit of the game scored Byron Buxton and made it 4-0.
The 33-year-old would ultimately be pulled in the third after failing to record an out. His final line saw him deal two innings, allowing nine hits overall and four earned runs. Now 0-4 with a 4.31 ERA, the Halos' biggest offseason pitching addition has not gotten off to the start that he would have hoped for whatsoever.
At the plate, the Angels' only run of the game was provided via the bat of Zach Neto, whose solo home run in the top of the third made it 4-1. It's already the third homer of the season for the shortstop, with Saturday being just his seventh game of 2025 after missing the opening portion of 2025 recovering from shoulder surgery.
Zach Neto gets the Halos on the board! pic.twitter.com/zrMDzQs88t
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 26, 2025
Neto finished 3-4 on the day and is now hitting .300 with a .990 OPS through his opening week of action. Despite the small sample size, its clear his bat has been a much-welcomed addition to the lineup.
Out of the bullpen, Ryan Johnson, Reit Detmers, Jose Fermin and Garrett McDaniels did their best to give the Los Angeles lineup the time they needed to stage a comeback. The group combined for six innings of solid work, allowing just four hits and one run on an RBI double from Brooks Lee off Detmers in the sixth.
Despite the promising effort from the bullpen, Neto was the only one in the Angels' lineup to collect multiple hits and just one of two starters to have any hits overall. Luis Rengifo finished 1-3 while J.D. Davis collected a hit as a pinch-hitter, replacing an injured Nolan Schanuel.
Schanuel was forced to exit the game after fouling a pitch off his right knee. The team announced that he has a right knee contusion and and will continue to be evaluated. It's certainly not an ideal situation with two potential AAA replacements in Ryan Noda and Niko Kavadas hitting .158 and .233, respectively.
Nolan Schanuel had to be helped off the field after fouling a ball off his right knee. pic.twitter.com/vyOMcb93mm
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) April 26, 2025
With the Angels looking to avoid getting swept for the first time this season, they will play the Twins in the series finale on Sunday morning. Right-hander Jose Soriano (2-3, 4.34 ERA) will toe the rubber for Los Angeles against Minnesota right-hander Joe Ryan (1-2, 4.00 ERA).
First pitch is scheduled for 10:40 a.m. PT.
