SURPRISE, Ariz. -- It didn’t take long for Yusei Kikuchi to make a good first impression in his first week playing games in the big leagues. In his first Cactus League start Monday, he threw two innings without allowing an earned run and struck out Joey Votto with a curve that prompted the veteran batting champ to label it as one of a small handful of elite curveballs in the Majors.

Kikuchi boasts a mid-90s fastball, a herky-jerky two-kick windup, and good deception with his delivery to keep hitters off balance. He used it all to good effect again in Saturday’s 8-0 loss to the Royals, bookending a perfect first frame with strikeouts of leadoff hitter Billy Hamilton and three-hole hitter Adalberto Mondesi.

“All my pitches are feeling really good,” Kikuchi said, speaking through an interpreter. “I need to be a little more fine with my two-strike pitches, because I’ve noticed if it’s too much in the zone that they’re going to take advantage of that, so that’s the next thing I’m going to work on.”

Kikuchi was perfect through the first two innings Saturday in Surprise, Arizona then yielded an infield hit on a ball that went through second baseman Brian Goodwin, and followed that by hitting Brett Phillips in the helmet with a 94 mph fastball.

Hamilton doubled to left in his second at-bat, plating the game’s first run, and Whit Merrifield was retired on a hard grounder to third, but extended the lead to two when Phillips scored from third on the play.

“It was the second time around the lineup,” Kikuchi said of the reason for his struggles in his third and final inning. “I kind of left some balls in the zone, and they were able to put the barrel on it.”

While Royals hitters were able to successfully adapt to Kikuchi when seeing him for the second time in three innings, the left-hander also recognized the need to up his game a tick or two to consistently succeed against big league hitters.

“In Japan, they’re trying to hit the ball the other way,” Kikuchi said. “But here in the States, that margin [of error] is so small that those ones in Japan that would be the other way, they’re actually swinging through it and getting some good contact.”

Kikuchi also took important steps in adapting the distinctive routine he’s always used to prepare for games to fit in to different norms and approaches associated with baseball in the United States.

“It’s quite a bit different,” manager Scott Servais said before Saturday’s game, noting Kikuchi’s approach between games and on game days. “There’s a lot of throwing. More throwing than you typically see.

“The biggest thing is the pregame on his game day to make sure that he comes up with a routine that he’s comfortable with that will actually work with the way a Major League game gets going. We’ll probably see a little bit of an adjustment there today. It’s going to take a little time for him to get comfortable and have a clear understanding of what’s going to work for him.”

On Monday, Kikuchi’s pregame workout routine included an extensive running and stretching program starting long before first pitch, as opposed to the practice for most pitchers of starting their warmups somewhere between the time the daily pregame ceremonies take place at the plate and when the national anthem is sung.

“It’s very abnormal compared to other guys,” Servais said. “Most guys are probably out 30 minutes before first pitch. They’re running, they start playing catch, the long toss. They get on the mound maybe 15 minutes [before the game], 20 minutes for some guys.”

Kikuchi made significant changes in his routine Saturday, and the adjustment seemed to come easily for him.

“In Japan, I actually warm up with the team in the morning and then play catch and then come back and warm up again before I start,” Kikuchi said. “I asked [teammates] Wade LeBlanc and Marco Gonzales if that was a good idea, and they said, ‘Hey, the season’s long, so it’s probably better to just warm up before the game.’ I tried that out today, and I really liked it.

“I came to America, and it’s American culture, so I have to adjust,” Kikuchi said. “I really liked what I did today.”