Angels' Yusei Kikuchi Not Happy With Manager Ray Montgomery's Decision

Sep 12, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Los Angeles Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi (16) delivers a pitch during the third inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images | Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi expressed his discontent with interim manager Ray Montgomery pulling him during the Angels' loss to the Brewers on Thursday.

The Halos led the Brewers, 2-1, in the bottom of the sixth, and Kikuchi had men on first and second with two outs. He had only thrown 92 pitches.

Rather than keeping him in for the next at-bat, Montgomery took Kikuchi out of the game for Jose Fermin, who allowed a run on the first batter, tying the game. The Angels went on to lose, 5-2.

"All year I've been grinding for the team, right?" Kikuchi said through an interpreter. "So in that spot, I wanted to be trusted a little bit more, and I felt like I wasn't trusted in that moment."

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Kikuchi has been the Angels' most effective starter this season, posting a 4.05 ERA and being named to his second All-Star Game as the team's lone representative. He has been healthy all season, starting a league-leading 32 games, though he also leads the league with 179 hits allowed.

The Angels signed the southpaw ahead of the season to a three-year, $63 million contract, and have to be impressed with what he's done this season. Kikuchi leads the team with 168 strikeouts this season, and has a 3.1 bWAR, which is also the best on the team among pitchers.

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Kikuchi has done well over his last two starts, though the three outings he had prior to that didn't quite go to plan. In his three starts from Aug. 26 to Sept. 6, Kikuchi pitched 11.2 innings and allowed 18 runs. He had his worst showing of the season during that stretch, lasting just two innings against the Athletics while allowing seven earned runs.

The left-hander will get one more chance to show his stuff this season, and will likely take the mound against the Kansas City Royals in the second to last series of the season. Before that series, however, the Angels are traveling to Colorado to face the Rockies, who have the worst record in baseball. The Halos look to end their seven-game skid in the opening game of the series, which begins at 5:10 p.m. PT.

For more Angels news, head over to Angels on SI.