By Paul L. Taylor Posted on

George Kirby sees dominant start vs. Yankees come undone in 6th

After being on course for a third quality start against the Yankees, George Kirby unravels in the sixth inning as the Mariners lose 5-3.

There are times in sports when players seemingly have a hold over certain teams, as if they have access to some hidden cheat code. Ahead of Wednesday afternoon’s series finale, you wondered if George Kirby had this almost inexplicable hold over the Yankees.

While the sample size wasn’t large, quality starts in both career games versus the Bronx Bombers seemed to allude to Kirby having a handle on them. This included a dominant outing the first time he faced them at the end of May in 2023, only allowing three hits over 8.0 shutout frames on a day when it was needed more than ever as it took the Mariners 10 innings to pull out a 1-0 win.

Speaking to the media ahead of the rubber match, Mariners manager Dan Wilson had talked about what Kirby had been doing and needed to continue doing in order to have more success against the Yankees. Wilson said:

“We’re looking for a big outing from George … The things that he’s been doing consistently to have success. When you look at the usage of his arsenal, the way he attacks the zone, the ability to use his fastballs — all of that is what goes into what George does. He gets himself into good counts, he stays ahead, he controls the game. Definitely against (the Yankees), that’s what he’s going to need to do again today.”

Early walk an omen of what was to come against the Yankees

Things started off well enough for Kirby as he got two consecutive outs to start the game in the top of the first. However, next he walked Cody Bellinger, who subsequently stole second base and was then brought home by a Ben Rice double to give the Yankees an early 1-0 lead.

At least Kirby was able to get out of the inning after challenging a call on the field and having it overturned, for Paul Goldschmidt to be called out on strikes. The righty settled down again after this and put in a dominant performance over the following four innings, to keep the Mariners within reach at 1-0 and have him on course for a third quality start against the Yankees.

Unfortunately for the Mariners Kirby unravelled in the sixth inning, as he sandwiched two outs with a couple of walks to give him three passes on the day. To put this into context, this is just the eighth time in 114 career starts the 2023 All-Star has done this. (For further context, he has a career ratio of just 1.4 walks per 9.0 innings.)

This set the stage for what would prove to be the kill shot by Goldschimdt, as he connected with a heater over the middle and sent it deep left center over the wall to give the Yankees a 4-0 lead. Kirby stayed in to get the final out of the inning, but this proved to be the end of his day at the office.

Late rally not enough for the Mariners

The 28-year-old did manage six strikeouts, but ultimately he was undone by five hits and the aforementioned three walks on his way to allowing four earned runs. The Mariners did make a valiant effort to get back into the game with some late runs, but ultimately he was tagged with the ‘L’ in the 5-3 loss.

Kirby was understandably crestfallen when speaking to the media postgame about his outing. He said:

“It’s just so critical to get in the zone, make guys beat you. It just stinks. I felt really good that whole game, (but) two walks there in the sixth and then the homer really stinks. So yeah, I’ve just got to recommit, find a way to just get back in the zone and just keep at them.”

Kirby had previously talked about wanting to expand the zone and he was asked if this adjustment, contributed to how things played out in the game. However, he didn’t want to use this as an excuse in any way, as he said:

“I don’t know. I mean, I felt real good out there. I don’t know, I just was missing and it’s hard to explain because mentally, physically, I felt really good and (it) just kind of wasn’t coming out the way I would have liked. So, move on you know, and limit the walks the next game.”

Dan Wilson encouraged by what he saw from George Kirby

Overall, Wilson thought Kirby threw the ball well, and he was philosophical when it came to the walks. He said:

“I mean walks are going to happen and it does seem like they come back to haunt you often. That’s why a big part of what we talk about is dominating the zone and getting ahead, and George does that very effectively. Every once in a while it’s going to happen where you’re going to walk a guy, but for the most part I think George is on the attack and I think that’s where he’s at his best … and he did that for a huge chunk of the game today.”

It will be of little consolation for the ultra-competitive Kirby who is just focused on winning, but he’s only the fourth pitcher in Major League history to record three-or-fewer walks and 17+ strikeouts over 20.0+ innings pitched to the Yankees. The other three pitchers are Clayton Kershaw (2010-2023), Sean Doolittle (2012-2020) and Ralph Glaze (1906-08).

One positive Kirby was able to accept was the continued evolution and trust in his changeup, although even here, thoughts about the three walks were never too far away. He said:

“I think the best indicator you see is some good swings. You get a lot of confidence throwing that pitch. And the more and more you keep throwing it, the less you’ve got to do with it; it kind of just comes out nice. So yeah, I think a combination of that, you’re getting swings and miss, and that gives you some confidence, but I’m happy where it’s at. Like I said, just limit the walks. That’s always the killer.”

With the loss the Mariners ended the opening homestand 3-4 and now have a day off ahead of beginning their first road trip of 2026 on Friday, in Anaheim against the Angels. This type of slow start to a season is nothing new for the M’s and Kirby isn’t too concerned. He said:

“We’ve done a lot of good things. I think we’re throwing the ball well, we’re hitting well, but we can get better at both of those things. The first week we just keep learning and just keep battling every night. We’re always good at that, going to war every night, just leaving everything out there.”

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rogers Photography & Mazvita Maraire

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