Mariners get the real George Kirby when it matters most

Despite his recent struggles on the mound, George Kirby came through for the Mariners in a must-win game on Sunday versus the Rangers.

When we last saw George Kirby on the mound, he struggled versus the San Diego Padres. He labored through 5.0 innings for the Seattle Mariners, allowing seven hits, a walk and five earned runs.

As a result, the Padres went on to beat the Mariners 7-3 and Kirby recorded his 11th loss of the year, a single-season career high. As we wrote at the time, he just hadn’t been the same since his shellacking in Detroit, in a 15-1 loss to the Tigers in mid-August.

From being projected to have the best season of his three years in the Majors, the 26-year-old now appeared to be on course for his worst. However, when the Mariners needed him most on Sunday, he delivered in the series finale against the Texas Rangers.

No solution to Kirby on Sunday

And when we say Kirby delivered, this should be taken as a significant understatement. He was quite simply stellar through 7.0 shutout innings of sublime pitching for the Mariners.

When it was all said and done, the 2023 All-Star had allowed a career-low one hit, while giving up no walks. He additionally struck out three, as he took just 85 pitches to get through his outing.

In theory, this type of performance could have been predicted versus the Rangers. Prior to Sunday’s game, Kirby had gone 5-0 in seven career starts against the Mariners’ divisional rivals, having recorded a 1.08 ERA.

Regardless, all that mattered was that the Rye, New York native stepped up in dominanting style. A key note in Sunday’s outing was that he only faced a trio of three-ball counts, alluding to how exceptional his location was.

Afterwards, Kirby spoke to the media about what went right for him on the day. He said:

“Quality strikes, and that’s where I have kind of been lacking. I did a really good job of that today, just getting in, going up and away, up and into lefties. I mixed it around the whole plate. I didn’t really miss today. It was a great feeling.”

One of the few challenging moments for Kirby — albeit through no fault of his own — came during the fourth inning. Justin Turner bobbled a seemingly routine grounder, and it looked for a moment as if this was going to allow Josh Smith to reach base for the Rangers.

However, Dylan Moore reacted quickly to grab the ball and throw it in time to Kirby, who had anticipated how the situation was playing out and sprinted to first base. The righty said:

“I’m glad I got to the bag there and held my foot on. (Moore) was huge. He was paying attention and was able to get that ball.”

A much-needed hit for Garver

Of course, as good as Kirby was on the day, it only matters so much if the lineup doesn’t do its part. This was not the case on Sunday afternoon, as the embattled Mitch Garver got things off to a great start with a three-run homer in the opening inning, on the very first pitch he faced.

This put the Rangers on the back foot right away, and they were never able to recover. As for Garver, he finished with his first three-hit game of what has been a horrendous individual season for him.

Victor Robles added a RBI single in the bottom of the sixth, followed by a solo bomb from Randy Arozarena an inning later, to make it 5-0. For Arozarena specifically it was a special moment, as he became the first player in Major League history to record 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in each of his first four seasons.

The 5-0 lead made it slightly easier for Mariners manager Dan Wilson, in respect of what to do about Kirby. He said postgame:

“I was a little bit indecisive there about whether to leave George in or take him out. “But after seven innings of really strong baseball, and then the lead opening up a little bit, it allowed us to get to the bullpen, and those guys continued to slam the door.”

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A team victory in every sense for the Mariners

The relievers did indeed slam the door shut, as Trent Thornton and Eduard Bazardo both pitched a clean inning, to record the final six necessary outs. Meanwhile, Julio Rodríguez and Turner each hit a sacrifice fly RBI in the bottom of the eighth, to close out the scoring in an impressive 7-0 win.

The victory saw the Mariners clinch their four-game series against the Rangers. They’re now on a bit of an under-the-radar roll, having taken eight of their last 11 contests overall.

It’s still going to take a lot of hard work and good fortune to qualify for the playoffs, but at least the Mariners have a chance. Ahead of Monday’s action they find themselves 2.5 games out of the final AL wild card spot.

The Mariners are also 4.5 games back of the Houston Astros at the top of the AL West. For what it’s worth, there are still three games remaining between the two clubs, in the second-last series of the 2024 regular season.

Between now and then, all the Mariners can do is keep the pressure on the Astros in the best and most obvious way possible. As Wilson said:

“We’ve just got to keep winning. And that’s where we’re focused at right now.”

The Mariners have an off-day on Monday, before they begin a crucial three-game home set versus the New York Yankees. The in-form Bryan Woo will take the mound for the series opener on Tuesday night, while the Yankees counter with Luis Gil.

At the risk of repeating ourselves, where is your confidence level currently at in respect of the Mariners’ playoff hopes? Do you have belief, just hopeful, or outright don’t think they’re going to qualify? Let us know in the comments section below.