SEATTLE — After he struck out Randy Arozarena, the Tampa Bay Rays’ most dangerous hitter, to end the sixth inning Saturday, George Kirby stalked off the mound in disgust.
He’d lost his bid for a no-hitter on a one-out double off the bat of Yandy Diaz. He lost his bid for a scoreless outing and a two-run lead on the very next pitch — a first-pitch change-up to Luke Raley — which stayed in the middle of the plate and was hammered for a two-run homer.
Incensed at his mistake, Kirby never stopped as he got to the dugout, keeping his angry pace down the stairs and up into the tunnel area to the clubhouse to vent his frustration and wait out the remainder of the inning.
But his exit from the mound in the seventh inning was a little different. Given a one-run lead thanks to Jarred Kelenic’s RBI single, Kirby wasn’t about to have any drama in what would likely be his last inning. The right-hander got a weak groundout off the bat of Harold Ramirez and struck out Josh Lowe and Jose Siri swinging.
When Kirby rifled his 101st pitch of the game — a 97-mph fastball — past Siri for a swinging strike three, he slammed his glove and let out a scream, walking off the mound with a confident little strut like a kid walking the mean streets of Rye, N.Y., while a crowd 35,546 rose in ovation.
There was no going to the tunnel. With his day done, he lingered in the dugout to watch his teammates reward him with three more runs in the bottom of the inning as the Mariners would eventually roll to a solid 8-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
It was a tantalizing win for the Mariners, showing the potential they have as a group, particularly with something more than mediocre offensive production.
But it was Kirby who set the tone from the first pitch of the game with another brilliant performance, showcasing his obvious talent but also a ruthless competitive side that doesn’t accept failure.
He pitched seven complete innings, allowing two runs on two hits with two walks and seven strikeouts to improve to 7-7.
It was the fourth time this season Kirby pitched seven-plus innings and allowed two runs or fewer. He has a 2-2 record in those games, which speaks to his minimal run support.
Relying heavily on his riding four-seam fastball and sinking two-seam fastball and sprinkling in just enough off-speed pitches — all thrown with his usual command — he kept a Rays offense that is one of the most productive in baseball off balance and unable to square up pitches they were expecting.
When he walked Wander Franco, the second hitter of the game, an irritated Kirby, who despises walks, retired 11 straight batters before walking Josh Lowe with one out in the fifth inning.
But the Rays had still not registered a hit when he finished the fifth inning with a strikeout of Siri and a soft groundout to first from Taylor Walls.
Along the way, the Mariners provided Kirby with an early lead to work with, scoring two runs off starter Tyler Glasgow.
The Mariners grabbed a 1-0 lead with two outs in the second inning. Kelenic took advantage of a curveball left in the middle of the plate, scalding a double into the gap in right-center. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored when Mike Ford looped a 2-2 fastball into center for an RBI single.
The Mariners made it 2-0 in the second when J.P. Crawford jumped on a 2-1 fastball left in the middle of the plate, sending it into the right-field seats for his seventh homer of the season. The solo blast made it 2-0.
