On a night when the Mariners celebrated the 1990s at T-Mobile Park, George Kirby, who was born in 1998, delivered a brilliant pitching performance, featuring pinpoint command and thread-the-needle accuracy that was reminiscent of the greatest pitcher of that decade.
Only Greg Maddux wasn’t pumping 99-mph four-seam fastballs and 96-mph sinkers.
In a season full of strong outings from the Mariners’ talented starting rotation, Kirby delivered the most dominant performance in this young season Saturday night. He tossed seven shutout innings, allowing two hits, issuing one walk and striking out a career-high 12 batters to lead the Mariners to a 3-1 victory.
“Wow, George Kirby,” manager Scott Servais said. “Can’t say enough from where he came out in the first inning. It’s probably as good of stuff as we’ve seen him have all year. The velocity was there. Certainly the life on the fastball, the number of swings and misses tonight on the fastballs. It doesn’t happen in a major-league game. That was just awesome to watch.”
The Mariners improved to 15-12 on the season and secured their fourth straight series win. They will go for a sweep Sunday with Logan Gilbert on the mound.
It was the Mariners’ 15th consecutive quality start, which is a franchise record. Their starters have allowed two earned runs or fewer over that stretch. In 92 1/3 innings pitched, Seattle starters have allowed 15 earned runs for a 1.48 ERA.
Facing a team that strikes out only 18%, the second lowest in all of MLB, Kirby overwhelmed the Diamondbacks with fastballs. He didn’t trick them or fool them. He pitched to his oft-used mantra: “I believe I can beat anybody in the strike zone.”
He beat them in the strike zone, out of the strike zone and lived on the edges of the strike zone where productive approaches and quality at-bats go to die.
“You just kind of know from the beginning when you start warming up,” he said. “You’re like, ‘OK, it’s going to be a good day.'”
Kirby did it with his power stuff and precise location. He threw 48 four-seam fastballs, generating 18 whiffs, 13 foul balls and two called strikes. The 18 swings and misses on four-seam fastballs were the most by any pitcher this season. He tossed in 18 two-seam fastballs, getting one whiff and three called strikes with six foul balls. Of his 17 sliders, he got nine called strikes and two whiffs.
“That’s electric stuff,” Servais said. “You just don’t see that in this league, especially with the velocity nowadays and the way guys train. They are ready for velo. They know what George Kirby is gonna go out and do against them, and to still get it done like that is very impressive.”
It helped that he rarely pitched from behind. He fired first-pitch strikes on 17 of the 24 batters he faced. And of those seven 1-0 counts, only twice did he go to 2-0. He had just four counts that reached three balls.
After feeling some soreness in his arm in his previous outing in Colorado, but still working five scoreless innings, Kirby showed no signs of soreness.
“I felt good as soon as I got out of Colorado,” he said.
His first pitch was 97 mph. His third pitch was 98 mph. His sixth pitch was 99 mph. He threw 11 fastballs in that first inning, and all were 97 mph or higher.
He’s heard the Maddux comparisons before. It’s a tough one to live up to considering Maddux won 300-plus games and is in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
“I didn’t watch him a ton,” he said. “Seeing the comparison, I started watching [on video]. I like seeing his front-hip two-seamers and how he completely controlled the game. It’s definitely fun to have that comparison. I like to go back and look at that stuff.”
The Mariners didn’t provide him much in the way of run support against Arizona starter Slade Cecconi. The rookie right-hander delivered a solid outing as well.
He retired 13 of the first 15 batters he faced. The Mariners finally broke through in the fifth inning. With one out, Mitch Garver doubled into the right-field corner. Luke Raley followed with a single to right field. Garver hesitated slightly before breaking for third on the single, but third base coach Manny Acta didn’t hesitate in sending him home. Garver, who won’t be confused with Julio Rodriguez in terms of speed, rumbled home, sliding in well ahead of a weak throw from right fielder Jake McCarthy.
The Mariners could’ve had another run when Josh Rojas hammered a line drive to the gap in left-center. But Seattle native Corbin Carroll ran the ball down and made an impressive catch to end the inning.
Cecconi’s final line: six innings pitched, one run allowed on three hits with a walk and eight strikeouts.
Given a lead, Kirby retired five of his seven scoreless innings with a strikeout, including the sixth when he froze Ketel Marte with a pretty inside sinker at 95 mph. It was his 10th strikeout of the game, which tied a career high.
In the seventh, Kirby punctuated his outing with a strikeout of Joc Pederson for the second out of the inning and a quick strikeout of former teammate Eugenio Suarez to give him a dozen.
The Mariners provided some needed insurance in the bottom of the seventh against the Diamondbacks bullpen. Ty France clubbed a two-run homer into the Mariners’ bullpen to make it 3-0.
“It’s makes it easy for us,” France said of the Mariners pitching. “Our pitching staff is elite and one of the best of the game. Honestly, all it takes some nights is only one run.”
Arizona picked up a run off Ryne Stanek in the eighth inning to cut the lead to 3-1. But Andres Munoz worked a scoreless ninth to pick up the save.
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