ANAHEIM, CA., — Yusei Kikuchi’s first out of the game was a strikeout – but not just any strikeout. 

His 1,000th MLB career strikeout. 

Too bad his accomplishment was buried under the seven runs he gave up in the first two innings. And how horrible of a precedent that set for the remainder of the game.

Kikuchi has lost his last three games and has a 7.49 earned run average in his last seven.

“Obviously the last few games haven’t gone my way,” Kikuchi said in postgame interviews. “It’s been tough. I’ve been trying different things but it seems like nothing’s working.”

Kikuchi’s final line was 2.0 IP, 6H, 7ER, 3BB, 1K and one home run. In two innings he threw 61 pitches and his performance was inefficient to say the least.

After Kikuchi’s 1,000 career strikeout to Shea Langeliers, he walked Nick Kurtz and Colby Thomas back-to-back. Jacob Wilson then hit a single to load the bases.

Tyler Soderstrom hit a line drive to Taylor Ward – a ball that should’ve been caught to end the inning but Ward misread the ball and that line drive turned into a bases-clearing double, giving the A’s a 3-0 lead in the first.

And the game only got worse, which may or may not be hard to imagine. It is the Angels after all.

After a Langeliers double, Brent Rooker hit an RBI double to bring Langeliers home. Kikuchi walked Kurtz for the second time before giving up a 3-run home run to Thomas, putting the Athletics up 7-0 two innings into the game.

At least the Angels would have seven innings to catch up, right?

Wrong. Again – it’s the Angels we’re talking about.

But at least they weren’t shut out.

A single by Trout and an RBI triple by Yoán Moncada put the Angels on the board in the third inning.

Kurtz hit his 29th home run in the fourth and Thomas scored again in the sixth inning, putting the A’s ahead 9-1.

Clearly after Kikuchi’s start, this was bound to be a bullpen game. If only the Angels’ prominent issue for years wasn’t pitching depth and player development. 

But that’s exactly their issue.

Scott Kingery, a position player, came to pitch in the eighth inning. At this point Angels had gone through five pitchers and were already down eight runs. 

Indeed it can, and it did get worse.

Kingery pitched two innings, allowing 12 hits and eight runs. Including two 3-run home runs, one from Carlos Cortes and the other from JJ Bleday.

Angels pitchers gave up 21 hits and 17 runs. Matthew Lugo and Jo Adell hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth but it wasn’t going to get them a win. The damage had been done. 

“The focus for me now for these last 20 (games) is continue to stay together as a group,” Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery said. “We’ve picked each other up all year…we play 162 (games) not 140.”

Angels (66-76) will fall to last place in the AL West if the A’s (66-77) complete the sweep tomorrow.