By Paul L. Taylor Posted on

Mariners win-streak ends as George Kirby struggles in 7-1 loss

The Seattle Mariners are unable to complete a sweep of the New York Mets, as George Kirby lasts a season-low four innings.

The Mariners are no longer the hottest team in the majors, after seeing their eight-game winning streak halted on Wednesday afternoon in the home series finale versus the Mets. And as much as the M’s knew they couldn’t keep winning indefinitely, it was the manner of the 7-1 loss which was frustrating to witness for the 27,969 in attendance at T-Mobile Park.

Only mustering six hits certainly didn’t help the cause, or making careless and costly mistakes in the field of play. However, as much as you win and lose as a team, George Kirby’s individual performance played a significant role in sealing the Mariners’ fate against the Mets.

Kirby started this season in fine form, and through nine outings he had produced a 2.84 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 1.2 fWAR, looking like he was more than recovered from last year’s career-worst campaign. Since then however, it’s been a bit of a slog for the 2023 All-Star.

And ‘slog’ was the appropriate description for Kirby’s start on Wednesday afternoon, when he only lasted a season-worst 4.0 innings, but it took him 89 pitches to get through it. Nine hits also equalled a season-worst, as he allowed five runs (four earned) and was tagged with his fifth L’ of the 2026 campaign.

J.P. Crawford’s impressive offensive day can’t save the Mariners

Kirby was just about keeping it together through three innings, with the Mariners tied at 1-1 thanks to J.P. Crawford’s third lead-off home run of the season. (And 17th overall in his M’s career, for the second-most in franchise history.) Crawford had a tremendous offensive game overall with three hits, but it counted for little in the end.

As alluded to, the fourth inning would prove fatal for Kirby, as he gave up four runs to give the Mets a 5-1 advantage. The seed was planted for the horrific inning after Josh Naylor’s attempted throw to start an inning-ending double play was well off-target to second base, leading to the first run and a Mets’ 2-1 lead.

Everything went wrong for Kirby, including a a first-and-third double steal that led to a run, as well as a double which came about after cannoning off first base to right field and resulting in another score. As much as he didn’t help himself in the inning, he also suffered the double-whammy of critical defensive miscues and no luck whatsoever.

The damage was done, but the Mets added a couple of insurance runs off relievers Eduard Bazardo and Alex Hoppe, to complete the scoring. But again, this was about a challenging outing for Kirby, who now has a 7.29 ERA and 1.62 WHIP over his past four starts.

George Kirby discusses what he must do to get back on track

When it comes to rebounding from his recent struggles, one of the main things Kirby acknowledges he needs to do a better job of, is getting ahead in the count. Speaking to the media postgame, he said:

“I’ve been really bad with it the last couple weeks. That’ll allow me to get some opportunities to really go for that swing and miss once I get two strikes. So, I think that’s kind of the biggest focus right now.”

The 28-year-old was then asked about what he’s telling himself and how he’s dealing with his below-par form over these recent outings. He said:

“I know I’m so much better and more capable of getting these outs, getting ahead, whatever it may be. I’ve just got to keep my head down, keep going to work and keep up with my mental stuff. All that good stuff during the week, just keep believing in my stuff and it’s going to turn around.”

Dan Wilson retains full confidence in George Kirby

Mariners manager Dan Wilson also discussed Kirby’s rough day at the office. He said:

“They put a lot of pitches on him early and it seemed like it was tough to get settled in. It just seemed like it never got to where it was going George’s way. Tough one for him, for sure.”

For the season as a whole up to this point, there are some specific areas of concern, with Kirby currently projected to set career-worsts with a 19.8 strikeout rate and 1.282 WHIP. However, Wilson isn’t too concerned about the righty getting back on track, as he said:

“I mean, like we’ve talked about, George has made such a great mental mind shift and his mindset is so different. I think that’s something that you tackle with your mindset, he’s going to continue to go out and attack, and I think he’s going to be just fine.”

Everyone is well aware of what Kirby is capable of, with a resume which includes his aforementioned All-Star selection, receiving AL Cy Young votes and twice leading the majors in strikeouts-to-walks ratio. Now though, he needs to really apply the mentality Wilson talked about, and return to pitching at a staff ace level.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rogers Photography

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