Shohei Ohtani gave Yusei Kikuchi a rude welcome on Saturday, hitting a home run and a single off of the Mariners rookie in the first MLB matchup between the Japanese stars.
With about 80 members of the Japanese media looking on at Angel Stadium, Ohtani beat out an infield single in the first inning, then grounded out to first in the second.
In the fourth inning, Ohtani became the third straight Angels batter to take Kikuchi deep. In a span of four pitches, Tommy La Stella and Mike Trout started the inning with back-to-back homers before Ohtani hit the first offering he saw over the left-center field fence.
Ohtani, 24, and Kikuchi, 27, attended the same high school in Japan but missed each other by a year.
They also missed each other when Kikuchi faced the Angels on April 20 and May 30, with Ohtani out of the lineup both days, making Friday their first showdown since they played against each twice in the Japanese league.
Ohtani went 2-for-5 against Kikuchi in Japan, striking out three times.