George Kirby wasn’t frustrated about getting pulled early or watching the Mariners’ bullpen implode.
Instead, the Seattle pitcher was upset about getting left in the Mariners’ 7-4 loss to the Rays on Friday for too long.
Kirby allowed four runs on five hits in 6 ⅓ innings, but two of those came on a homer by catcher Rene Pinto in the seventh inning — an inning which Kirby started despite having already thrown 94 pitches.
“I wish I wasn’t out there for the seventh, to be honest,” Kirby said postgame, according to the Seattle Times. “I was at 90 pitches. I didn’t think I needed to go any more. But it is what it is.”
When asked if Kirby had a conversation about going back out to pitch the seventh, the Rye High School prospect — who was originally a Mets draft pitch before pitching at Elon University and becoming a first-round selection by the Mariners in 2019 — said “there’ll be a conversation soon.”
The pivotal seventh inning started with a first-pitch groundout from shortstop Taylor Walls.
Then, centerfielder Jose Siri doubled to bring the tying run to the plate, and Pinto capped a six-pitch at-bat — that featured consecutive foul balls — with a 380-foot homer that cleared the Tropicana Field fence with an expected batting average of .950, according to Baseball Savant.
“George was — basically, you’re at the bottom of the order, 7-8-9. He’d done a really good job handling those guys at that point,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said, according to the Seattle Times. “We were thin in the bullpen tonight, so you’re just trying to stretch [him] a bit. But he had plenty in the tank.”
Kirby ended up with a no-decision, as Harold Ramirez’s two-run homer later in the frame against Isaiah Campbell served as the game-winning runs.
After cracking the Mariners’ rotation last year, Kirby earned his first All-Star selection in 2023, and through 27 starts, he has compiled a 10-9 with a 3.48 ERA — though that number has climbed his last four starts, where Kirby has pitched to a 6.00 ERA.
His 0.87 walks per nine innings and 9.44 strikeouts per walk both lead MLB, too.
Despite appearing to sell at the trade deadline by sending Paul Sewald to the Diamondbacks, the Mariners — who entered 2023 as a likely AL West contender alongside the Astros before a disappointing start — strung together 20 wins across 24 games beginning Aug. 2.
And while they’ve now lost four of their past six games entering Saturday’s game against the Rays, Seattle still holds the American League’s second wild-card spot and leads the Blue Jays by one game.