Inside The Mariners

George Kirby Masterclass Leads Seattle Mariners to 3-2 Win Over Los Angeles Angels

The former All-Star pitcher had the best showing for a Mariners pitcher this season and helped the team snap its five-game losing streak.
Teren Kowatsch|
Seattle Mariners pitcher George Kirby throws during a game against the Los Angels Angels on June 8 at Angel Stadium.
Seattle Mariners pitcher George Kirby throws during a game against the Los Angels Angels on June 8 at Angel Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

In this story:

Seattle MarinersLos Angeles Angels

For the first time this season, the real George Kirby made his presence felt.

In just his fourth start this season since being activated from the injured list, the Seattle Mariners starting pitcher put on a masterclass. He struck out 14 of the 23 Los Angeles Angels batters he faced Sunday with no walks and allowed two earned runs on two hits (one home run) in seven innings. His quality start led the Mariners to a 3-2 win over the Angels and improved their overall season record to 33-31. Seattle cut the Houston Astros' lead in the American League West to 2.5 games with the victory.

Kirby's 14 strikeouts were a career high and tied Miami Marlins pitcher Max Meyer for the most in a single game in the major leagues this season. His fifth strikeout was the 500th of his career.

The Mariners gave Kirby just enough run support to get him the win. In the first inning, Randy Arozarena hit an RBI double to give his team an early 1-0 lead. He finished the game 3-for-5 with two doubles, a run and an RBI.

The Angels briefly took the lead in the bottom of the fourth after Taylor Ward hit a two-run home run.

That lead was short-lived. Jorge Polanco tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the fifth with an RBI single. Donovan Solano gave Seattle the lead for good with an RBI single the at-bat after Polanco's. Solano's hit resulted in the eventual final of 3-2.

The M's had several opportunities with runners in scoring position and went 4-for-16 in those scenarios. They could have broke out the game more, but stranded 11 runners.

Matt Brash and Andres Munoz kept Los Angeles off the board in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively. Munoz earned his 18th save in 22 opportunities.

The Mariners lost the series, but managed to snap their season-worst five-game losing streak with the victory.

Seattle will look to turn the corner and earn a series win in the final leg of the road trip against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Game 1 of the series begins at 6:40 p.m. PT on Monday. Emerson Hancock will start for the Mariners and Merrill Kelly will start for the Diamondbacks.

Related Stories on Seattle Mariners

MARINERS OUTFIELDER RODRIGUEZ RETURNS TO LINEUP AFTER INJURY SCARE: Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez will be a full participant Sunday after getting hit by a line drive Saturday. CLICK HERE

RODRIGUEZ GIVES POSITIVE UPDATE AFTER INJURY SCARE: The multi-time All-Star avoided a potentially serious injury after he took a hard-hit line drive in a game against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday. CLICK HERE

MARINERS FUMBLE MULTI-RUN LEAD IN 8-6 LOSS TO ANGELS: The Mariners' losing streak extended to a season-worst five games and the team lost their fourth series of their last five. CLICK HERE

Follow Seattle Mariners on SI on social media

Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on "X" @Teren_Kowatsch and @RefuseToLosePod. You can subscribe to the "Refuse to Lose" podcast by clicking HERE.

Published | Modified
Teren Kowatsch
TEREN KOWATSCH

Home/News