Mariners Offense Owes George Kirby More in Athletics’ Jeffrey Springs Rematch

Jeffrey Springs showed up at T-Mobile Park last Saturday with a 6.37 ERA. He hadn’t recorded a win since April 14. But for some reason pitchers with that kind of history seem to get the better of the Mariners. Seattle basically supplied the comeback montage.

Springs cruised through seven scoreless innings while allowing two hits, both singles by Cal Raleigh. He struck out six, issued two walks and needed only 81 pitches. A pitcher who had gone 0-13 with a 7.60 ERA across his previous 21 starts suddenly looked completely in control.

Now the Mariners get to have a do over. Springs and George Kirby will face each other again Friday, only six days after the Athletics beat Seattle 6-2. The Mariners already know what Springs wants to do. There should be no surprises left.

George Kirby Gave the Mariners a Winnable Game

Kirby’s previous outing wasn’t perfect. He allowed three earned runs over 6 2/3 innings and surrendered a home run to Max Muncy. He could have been sharper, but he also kept the game within reach.

Sure, there could be an argument over the mistakes, but three earned runs across nearly seven innings should give any major-league lineup a chance. Seattle gave Kirby nothing until Springs left the game. By then, the Athletics had a lead, their struggling starter had regained his confidence and the Mariners were chasing a game they had failed to enter.

Kirby shouldn’t need to throw a shutout to beat a 59-win Athletics team. And he certainly shouldn’t need one against a pitcher carrying an ERA north of six.

Jeffrey Springs Cannot Get the Same Comfortable Night Twice

To be fair, Springs deserves credit for what he was able to do. He changed speeds, filled the strike zone and kept the Mariners off balance. He also entered the night with a strong career history at T-Mobile Park, so the Mariners had ample warning that his ugly season numbers wouldn’t automatically produce an easy matchup. Still, 81 pitches across seven innings is offensive malpractice.

The A’s desperately needed length from Springs after their bullpen had covered 11 1/3 innings during the first two games of the series. Seattle responded by letting him breeze through the evening at fewer than 12 pitches per inning. That simply can’t happen this time around.

Three Athletics Hitters George Kirby Has to Watch

The checklist for Kirby is pretty simple: keep the ball away from Max Muncy’s damage zone, keep Henry Bolte off the bases and don’t let Zack Gelof turn a harmless inning into a stressful one.

Muncy is the loudest warning. He took Kirby deep, then knocked home Gelof with a single later in the game. That was his second homer in as many nights against Seattle. We’ve already seen this movie.

However, Bolte might have been the most annoying one. The guy has come out of nowhere. He doubled home a run against Kirby last Saturday and he’s a pest when he gets on base. He enters the series batting .277 with a .358 on-base percentage. If Seattle lets him reach consistently, he will start creating problems.

Gelof and Lawrence Butler are nothing to sneeze at either, as both could easily join the fun if they get a jump on Kirby. As for Kirby, he doesn’t need a reinvention. He just needs cleaner locations and fewer invitations.

Seattle begins this series 69-78, five games behind the final AL Wild Card spot with 15 games remaining. The elimination number is down to 10. The math still offers the M’s a pulse, but the margin for another self-inflicted loss is gone. The Athletics took three of four at T-Mobile Park. The Mariners are getting the same opponent and the same Game 1 pitching matchup almost immediately. If a favorable September schedule is going to mean anything, Seattle has to cash in against teams it’s supposed to beat.

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