ANAHEIM — Angels left-hander Yusei Kikuchi didn’t appear like he’d stick around long enough to earn a victory on Monday night.
He needed 71 pitches to get through the first three innings against the Tampa Bay Rays, causing the bullpen to stir in the opener of the three-game series.
Kikuchi settled in over the next three innings, however, giving the Angels time to provide a comfortable cushion in the 5-1 victory at Angel Stadium.
Jo Adell gave Kikuchi a 2-1 lead with a two-run homer in the second inning, Taylor Ward padded the advantage with a two-run single in the third, and Bryce Teodosio and Zach Neto delivered back-to-back two-out doubles in the sixth to make it 5-1.
Kikuchi (5-7) departed after allowing one run and four hits in the six innings, striking out seven and walking two on 105 pitches.
Ward, whose three-run walk-off home run ended the 8-5 victory on Sunday afternoon against the Chicago White Sox, opened the second inning with a single up the middle.
After a fielder’s choice ground out, Adell snapped an 0-for-16 stretch with a line drive into the Angels bullpen in left for a 2-1 lead.
Tampa Bay starter Adrian Houser (0-1) hit Nolan Schanuel in the foot with the first pitch of the third inning. Mike Trout then laced a 113.4 mph line drive over the head of left fielder Jake Mangum that one-hopped the wall, putting runners on second and third.
Ward followed with a broken-bat single up the middle to drive in both runners and extend the lead to 4-1.
It also increased his career-high RBI total to 84.
Teodosio, playing in his third game since getting selected from Triple A-Salt Lake on Saturday, singled in his first two at-bats and then doubled off the wall in right in the sixth.
He then came home on a double down the left-field line by Neto, stretching the lead to 5-1.
Kikuchi got ahead 0-and-2 to the first batter of the game, Yandy Diaz, but Diaz then lined a double into right-center field just out of the reach of a diving Teodosio.
Ha-Seong Kim followed with a line-drive single to right to put runners on the corners, and Junior Caminero brought Diaz home with a sacrifice fly to center for a 1-0 lead.
Angels reliever Brock Burke pitched around a leadoff double in the seventh on his 29th birthday.
Ryan Zeferjahn walked Tampa Bay’s leadoff batter in the eighth, but retired the next three batters, and Connor Brogdon closed the ninth.