Seattle Mariners Fall to Baltimore Orioles Despite Making Baseball History on King Felix's Night
The Seattle Mariners inducted longtime ace Felix Hernandez into the team's Hall of Fame on Saturday night, and then got a Felix-type pitching performance in a 1-0 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
Mariners All-Star George Kirby threw a nine-inning shutout, surrendering just three hits while striking out seven.
Reliever Andres Munoz took the loss after allowing the automatic runner to score in the tenth inning on a single.
The Mariners' pitching effort accomplished something not done in more than 100 years of baseball history.
Per @OptaSTATS on Twitter:
Tonight the Mariners:
- pitched 10.0+ innings
- allowed fewer than 5 hits
- allowed 0 ER
- allowed 0 BB
- allowed 0 XBH
The last MLB team to put up those numbers on the mound but still lose was the Senators on August 28, 1913, with Walter Johnson taking the complete-game loss.
It was a fitting to tribute to Hernandez, who was famous for his lack of run support during his 15-year career in Seattle. Ironically enough, the Mariners were beaten 1-0 in the playoffs by the Houston Astros - the last time that Hernandez attended a game pitched by Kirby.
The loss is an unfortunate one for Seattle as it snapped the team's eight-game winning streak and it cost them a chance to own the third and final wild card spot.
The team is now 0.5 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays again at 63-53.
The Mariners and Orioles will play again on Saturday afternoon at 4:10 p.m. ET.
Follow Fastball on FanNation on social media
Continue to follow our Fastball on FanNation coverage on social media by LIKING us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.
You can also subscribe to "The Payoff Pitch" podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
