Mariners Need George Kirby to Flip the Fenway Script Against the Red Sox to Keep Playoff Hopes Alive

This may be it for the Mariners. They need to leave Fenway Park with a series win. And it’s a reasonable demand for a team still asking us to take its playoff chances seriously. Seattle enters Aug. 31 with a 64-73 record, five games out of both the division lead and final wild-card spot, with 25 games left.

Even a 17-8 finish would only get the Mariners back to .500. We can still sketch out a route to October, but Seattle has reached the point where the baseball needs to justify the exercise. We haven’t seen that much this season, especially not on the road.

George Kirby gets the first assignment Monday against the Red Sox. After four straight losses, the Mariners need him to take control of a game before this road trip does any more damage.

The Mariners Have More Fenway Park History to Rewrite

Fenway comes with an unpleasant history for the Mariners. Last April, the Mariners took two of three from Boston to secure their first series victory there since 2014. For years this particular stop on the road has been miserable, and it feels like we’re asking for a lot more than an ordinary road series win here.

One successful visit in 2025 gives Seattle something to build on. But it’s hard to imagine them coming back and doing it again.

Kirby offers them a chance, and he’s coming off a strong outing. On Aug. 25, he delivered 7 ⅔ innings, one run, nine strikeouts and one walk against the Phillies. That’s what the M’s need traveling with him to Boston.

At Fenway, it’s easier said than done. Keeping the ball out of play is the best play. A strikeout takes the Green Monster, the strange angles and the possibility of a defensive misplay out of the inning. Every ball Boston puts in play creates another job somebody has to complete.

We should want Kirby attacking hitters with the confidence he showed against Philadelphia. The important work comes after he gets ahead and makes Boston earn its way back into the count.

It’s fair to set standards on the mound, but we can’t ignore the obligation the lineup has as well. The Mariners finished their series against the Jays with one hit in a 7-0 loss Sunday. Cal Raleigh’s fourth-inning double was the entire hit column. They’ve now been shut out eight times since July 1.

Opposite of Kirby will be Red Sox starter Payton Tolle who enters with a 3.09 ERA, so the M’s will have their work cut out for them. Last year’s Fenway breakthrough offers a good reminder of how that can happen. Their seventh through ninth lineup spots combined for 16 hits in 33 at-bats during the series.

It’s hard to imagine that being a repeatable performance. But having expectations of the bottom of the order contributing something isn’t too big of an ask. October baseball could become a lot more believable when the lineup can make the opposing pitchers work.

One loss wouldn’t mathematically end the season. But the Mariners need this series or it may be time to consider packing it up. They’ve proven they can win at Fenway. This week, they need to give us a reason to believe they can still win enough everywhere else too.

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