Mariners hopeful George Kirby can make next start after being pulled with ailing knee

HOUSTON — Mariners right-hander George Kirby had medical scans taken on his ailing right knee Saturday morning, a day after he was pulled following the sixth inning of his stellar start against the Astros.

“We did have some pictures taken of it this morning, just to make sure we’re treating it the right way,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said.

Servais added he had not yet seen results of the scans as of Saturday afternoon, but he is hopeful Kirby will be able to make his next scheduled start Wednesday in Minnesota.

“As of right now, we think he’ll be OK,” Servais said.

Kirby, for his part, said Friday night that he was “not at all” concerned.

The issue crept up, Kirby said, in recent weeks, though it has hardly affected his performance.

He came into his start Friday having thrown 14 consecutive scoreless innings, and against a veteran Astros lineup he allowed only one run on four hits with no walks and three strikeouts.

After throwing 88 pitches, he was pulled from the game after a conversation with Servais and pitching coach Pete Woodworth.

“I’ve been able to pitch through it and been getting good treatment,” Kirby said Friday night. “Today, it was just a little different, but I felt really good out there.”

A first-time All-Star in 2023, Kirby is 3-2 with a 3.76 ERA in seven starts this season, with 41 strikeouts and four walks in 38 1/3 innings. Over his past four starts since April 15, he had a 1.13 ERA with two walks and 28 strikeouts in 24 innings.

A platoon shift?

Josh Rojas was not in the starting lineup for the game Saturday against Houston’s Framber Valdez, with Luis Urias getting his usual start at third base against a left-handed pitcher.

The Mariners continue to stick with their platoon plan at third base — a plan that, it should be said, has worked better than anyone could have reasonably projected so far.

Servais did say, though, that he could tweak the plan — that he’s considering putting both Rojas and Urias in the lineup against certain right-handed pitchers, depending on the matchup.

In that scenario, Rojas would likely move out to left field. Rojas has appeared in 95 games in his career as an outfielder, 56 in left field.

Rojas leads all Mariners position players with a 1.2 fWAR through the first month of the season, and his .955 OPS ranks second among all MLB third basemen.

And Urias, now hitting .154 after a 1-for-4 night with a homer, has been solid defensively and has come through with some big hits in his first few weeks as a Mariner.

“Josh is off to a really good start — because he plays against right-handed pitching,” Servais said. “He’s done a fantastic job, and he’s been our most consistent guy all year.”