Mariners split four-game series as they blank Twins 5-0

George Kirby leads Mariners to shutout win, as he ties a personal career high with 10 strikeouts in seven sterling innings.

Reeling from the news of Jarred Kelenic’s self-inflicted injury, the Mariners were desperately in need of a positive boost. They got it thanks to a sublime outing from George Kirby, as they beat the Twins 5-0 and split the series.

Kirby was coming off one of his worst starts of the season. That he followed this up with one of his best, speaks volumes about his mental fortitude.

The 25-year-old came out firing and the Twins had no answer. He did not allow a hit until the fourth inning, giving up just four overall in seven innings of action.

A memorable outing for Kirby

Kirby matched a couple of career-highs, forcing 20 swing and misses on the way to 10 strikeouts. In the process, he and Luis Castillo became the first Mariners teammates to record 10+ strikeouts in back-to-back games since 2015.

Unsurprisingly, the righty had no walks on the day and leads all Major League qualifiers in lowest walk-rate per nine innings. He also recorded his Major League-leading 15th quality start of the season.

Three times this year, Kirby has allowed five earned runs in a start. And on each occasion he has rebounded with a scoreless outing in his next start, including Thursday afternoon.

The 2023 All-Star gave some insight into his confidence, when speaking to the media postgame. He said:

“I think it’s just hard to get me twice. I’m always going to come stay on the attack and be competitive.”

Of Kirby’s 99 pitches, 73 were called strikes, as he only allowed one batter to get into scoring position. Talking about his approach to the game, he said:

“(I was) very motivated. I knew I had to come out from the get-go and I’m glad how it went.”

Praise from others

Mariners manager Scott Servais was full of admiration for the young pitcher. He said:

“What a season he’s putting together. He just continues to impress, time and time again. He is not afraid. He loves the competition. I think that’s what sticks out more than anything else. When you watch him pitch, he just loves the, ‘Bring it on. I will give you my best effort.’ And he usually ends up on the right side of things.”

Teammate Teoscar Hernández added to the praise of Kirby. He said:

“That’s the way he is. He goes and attacks every hitter. He’s not afraid to back-to-back fastball, just throw fastballs to anybody on the other team.”

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Hernández leads Mariners offense

Hernández had a decent day himself, scoring the first two of the Mariners’ five runs. He got things started with a single in the bottom of the first, followed by a solo blast in the fourth.

Mike Ford doubled the advantage with a two-RBI homer in the eighth, before Cal Raleigh finished the scoring after reaching home plate courtesy of a wild pitch. However, even with five runs, the offense arguably underachieved once again.

The Mariners had the chance to take a commanding lead early on in the first inning. They loaded the bases with no outs, but only managed Hernández’s single.

The two-time Silver Slugger spoke to the media about the missed opportunity. He said:

“You wish we could have gotten more out of that first inning. (However), we put together a good inning, especially because we made (Pablo Lopez) work. That’s one of the biggest things for our team, to get the starter out of the game before the fifth inning, or even in the fifth inning.”

Fortunately for the Mariners, the bats ultimately did enough. They finished with eight hits in total, including a couple for both J.P. Crawford and Eugenio Suarez, as well as one by Julio Rodriguez.

Matt Brash and Paul Sewald completed the shutout, by both pitching a scoreless inning. In respect of the bullpen collectively, while they’ve had some issues they are still tied-eighth in the Majors in ERA as of Friday morning.

More consistency still needed

With the victory, the Mariners are once more back at .500, while sitting 5.0 games out of a wild card spot. Next up they host the Blue Jays, who currently hold one of those precious wild card places.

While Servais is happy with the win, he knows the Mariners still need to find more consistency. He said:

“Again, we’ll see what happens tomorrow. It’s kind of been the story of our season. We play a couple of really good games, (but) then do we have the ability to continue it? We’ll find out. It will be a big weekend series here.”

Bryce Miller will get the start in the series opener on Friday evening. The Blue Jays will counter with former Mariner Yusei Kikuchi.

As the up-and-down roller-coaster season continues, how confident are you ahead of the Blue Jays series? How many games do you predict the Mariners will take over the weekend versus their Canadian rivals? Let us know in the comments section below.