George Kirby shuts out Reds for six in victory

Kirby needed this one after giving up 11 runs over his last two starts. He stranded a runner in the first inning, then gave up a run on three hits in the second. Kirby would go on to pitch into the eighth without allowing another run, collecting nine strikeouts, the most in his last ten starts. The 28-year-old right-hander will look to build off the strong start when he takes a 4.02 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and a 126/34 K/BB ratio across 147 2/3 innings into a start against the Red Sox in Boston next Tuesday.

Just a tough day all around for Kirby. He had his worst velocity of the season and gave up 12 hard-hit balls. He also took a couple of pitch clock violations. It’s definitely worth wondering if something is up physically after his third rotten outing in his last five starts. He’s due to face the Phillies next week.

Kirby is simply not right. His lineup spotted him a two-run lead before he took the mound, and immediately gave one of those runs right back via a solo home run by Yordan Alvarez. It’s hard to fault anyone for that, Alvarez is on another level. Yet, the Astros jumped on Kirby for four more runs the following inning. He fell in love with his sweeper and it forced a few ugly swings, but he couldn’t command it very well. He battled all the way until the fifth inning with just those five runs which saved his line some in what was another rough outing. He now has a 3.89 ERA with 114 strikeouts and 31 walks through 136 2/3 innings as he heads into his next scheduled starts against the Brewers in Milwaukee.

The Mariners really needed one more inning out of Kirby tonight, but it wasn’t in the cards with him requiring 99 pitches to get 15 outs. Michael Rucker ended up allowing two unearned runs in the sixth and taking the loss in a 3-2 game. Kirby remained 8-9 with a 3.68 ERA ahead of a start next Friday against the Astros.

He was denied the win after the bullpen faltered in the late innings. Kirby allowed just five hits — all of them singles — while walking one and striking out three. It was a nice bounceback outing for Kirby after he was crushed for seven runs, including four homers, in his last outing against the Rangers. He lowered his ERA to 3.76 with the win, and barring a last-minute trade, he lines up to face the Rays in his next start on Saturday.

Passan adds that the sense is that Kirby is available and could be moved prior to Monday’s deadline. He also notes that Seattle has been listening to offer for Emerson Hancock and Luis Castillo. The Mariners have top prospect Kade Anderson knocking on the door of the majors and figure to move at least one, if not more, of their current rotation members. Kirby would net the largest return in any potential trade package, despite holding a pedestrian 3.98 ERA across 120 innings this season.

Kirby’s velocity dipped quickly today; he averaged 96.9 mph in the first but was down to 95.7 mph in the second and 94.9 mph in the fourth. That’s well off his season average of 96.6 mph, and he gave up more runs today than in his previous four starts combined. It’s the third time in his career that he’s given up four homers; it also happened once in 2022 and once in 2023. Oddly enough, in all three of those starts, he gave up exactly seven runs in between four and 4 2/3 innings. He fell to 8-9 with a 3.98 ERA in advance of a start against the Twins.

Kirby struck out seven and didn’t walk anyone. He allowed a solo homer to Kyle Stowers but pitched well enough to win. The right-hander stumbled a bit from mid-May through mid-June, but he’s been excellent over his past three outings. Kirby has the worst K-BB% of his career this season but has offset it somewhat by inducing more grounders than in the past. This was his final start of the first half. The Mariners host the Giants coming out of the All-Star break.

Kirby struck out seven and allowed no runs over the final five innings of his second eight-inning start of the year. He’s turned in four straight quality starts while trading four-seamers for sinkers of late. That’s especially been the case his last two starts, both of which were wins. With the Mariners having Wednesday and Monday off, Kirby might not start again until next Tuesday. Or it’s possible he’ll be part of a piggyback tandem on Sunday.

We need to come up with a better term than piggybacking. Seriously. Gilbert takes the ball for a traditional start with Hancock doing the same for Sunday’s series finale. The decision pushes George Kirby back to Monday’s opener against the Angels. The whole Mariners rotation situation is challenging to understand and remains a massive headache for fantasy managers. There have to be some changes coming from a personnel standpoint after next month’s All-Star break because this seems too chaotic to work as a strategic approach for an extended period.