Mariners end losing streak as George Kirby shines in 3-2 win

The Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels in their series finale, helped in large part by George Kirby setting a career mark.

The Seattle Mariners entered Sunday on a season-high five-game losing streak and facing the prospect of falling to .500 for the first time since April 18. Fortunately for everyone concerned, they managed to hold on for a 3-2 win versus the Los Angeles Angels, in a contest which wasn’t quite as close as the final score might indicate.

At the heart of the win was a stellar outing from George Kirby, who had his best performance yet since returning from right shoulder inflammation. It also included a career-mark, which more than proved he was fully recovered from being hit in the face by a 102.7 mph comebacker in his previous start, against the Baltimore Orioles.

George Kirby leaves his mark on team and MLB history

Kirby set a career-high on Sunday of 14 strikeouts, which also tied for the most by anyone in the majors this season. He went a season-best 7.0 innings, in the process allowing seven hits, two earned runs and no walks.

The barrage of strikes allowed Kirby to become the third-fastest pitcher in franchise history to reach 500 Ks, achieving this in 527.2 innings. As per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com, the only Mariners to achieve 500 strikeouts quicker are James Paxton in 492.2 innings and teammate Logan Gilbert in 503.2.

Kirby reached the 500-K mark with just 68 walks by comparison, with only Koji Uehara doing better at just 63 free passes (achieved while he was with the Boston Red Sox). On top of everything else, as per Mariners PR, he’s the first team pitcher with 14+ strikeouts and no walks since a certain Randy Johnson had 19 Ks back in 1997 against the Athletics.

After Randy Arozarena had given the Mariners an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first with an RBI double, Kirby saw his only real trouble in the bottom of the fourth, as first Mike Trout singled and then Taylor Ward hit a two-run bomb to give the home side a 2-1 advantage.

Plenty of Mariners do their part in 3-2 win

That would be it against Kirby though, as he shut the Diamondbacks down the rest of the way. And thanks to two-out RBI singles by Jorge Polanco and Donovan Solano in the top of the fifth, the righty would leave the game with a 3-2 lead and ultimately his first win of the season.

This was clinched by the embattled bullpen shutting down the Diamondbacks the rest of the way, allowing no hits and just one walk over the final two innings. Mind you, it helps when it’s your two best relievers coming to the mound in Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz, with the latter earning his 18th save of the season after a much-needed week off.

It’s also worthy of note that this was the first game Cal Raleigh did not play in all season, which was a good thing even though he would have hated sitting out. And with Julio Rodríguez back in the lineup one day after his injury scare, overall it was a very good day for the Mariners in Anaheim.

When speaking to the media after the 3-2 win, Kirby talked about how he found his zone as his outing progressed. He said:

“After kind of that first inning, I was really spotting up, getting ahead, I was like, ‘You know, this is my … game, so I’m going to keep bearing down and keep going.”

Kirby had his three main pitches working on the day, but was particularly happy with how he threw his slider ahead of his four-seamer and sinker. He said:

“I feel like my best pitch is the slider but I haven’t been getting it to where I want these last couple of starts. Being able to do that, execute it well, was really nice.”

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Mariners rotation situation beginning to look better

The 2023 All-Star had looked terrible in his first two starts since returning from injury, allowing 13 hits, three walks and 11 earned runs in 8.2 combined innings. However, he showed positive progress in his aforementioned third start against the Orioles, with eight hits, a walks and just two earned runs in 5.0 innings.

This set the stage for Kirby’s outing on Sunday against the Angels. Also speaking to the media postgame, Mariners manager Dan Wilson said:

“He was attacking. He was throwing quality strikes. He wasn’t giving them a chance to get comfortable at all in the box. It was just a different day from George today.”

Combined with Gilbert being close to returning, it would appear the Mariners’ rotation situation is finally taking a turn for the better, and not before time. The reality is that even including Sunday’s outing by Kirby, the M’s rotation ranks 19th in ERA, 17th in WHIP, 19th in strikeouts and 22nd in opposing team batting average.

With Sunday’s win the Mariners improved to 33-31 and moved to within 2.5 games of the Houston Astros as the top of the AL West. Emerson Hancock will get the start on Monday in Arizona against the Diamondbacks, with him aiming to continue his recent excellent form.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rodgers Photography

As important as Sunday’s win was, it’s still just one game. How do you predict the Mariners will do in their three-game series on the road versus the Arizona Diamondbacks? Let us know in the comments section below.