Fastball

Seattle Mariners' George Kirby Goes Viral For Questioning Managerial Moves

Seattle Mariners pitcher George Kirby had some thoughts after the Mariners lost to the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night.
Brady Farkas|
Seattle Mariners' George Kirby Goes Viral For Questioning Managerial Moves
Seattle Mariners' George Kirby Goes Viral For Questioning Managerial Moves

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Seattle Mariners

There is a lot going on here, so let's get the background down.

On Friday, the Seattle Mariners lost to the Tampa Bay Rays 7-4. The loss dropped Seattle to 79-62 on the season. They are 0.5 games back in the American League West race and currently hold the second wild card spot.

The Mariners led the game against Tampa 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning. Starting pitcher George Kirby worked into the seventh inning but surrendered a game-tying two-run homer to make it 4-4. His night was then done, and the bullpen gave up three additional runs.

After the game? Kirby spoke to reporters and said he didn't think he should have been in that situation:

George Kirby was visibly frustrated postgame. 

He gave up the game-tying two-run homer on his 102nd pitch. 

"I wish I wasn't out there for the 7th to be honest." 

Says there will be a conversation soon | #SeaUsRise

From the outside looking in, this is not a great look for Kirby. One of the best, young pitchers in the game, he should be wanting to do everything he can to help the Mariners punch a ticket to the playoffs for the second straight year. Also, while 102 pitches is a lot, it's not 122. And finally, the Mariners bullpen is taxed. The whole world knows that. Matt Brash and Andres Munoz had worked three straight days and needed a day off, it wasn't easy for manager Scott Servais to go to the bullpen there.

That said, that's from the outside looking in. If Kirby was feeling any discomfort, his frustration is understandable. He also had been out recently for illness. Though he's started once already since coming back, if he was feeling ill, that's another story as well.

We will see what comes of this but the Mariners take on the Rays again on Saturday at 4:05 p.m. ET.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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