SEATTLE (AP) — The few times George Kirby has stumbled through a subpar start this season, his rebound efforts have been superb.
Chalk it up to Kirby’s talent and his belief.
“I think it’s just hard to get me twice,” Kirby said. “I’m always going to come stay on the attack and be competitive.”
Kirby matched his career high with 10 strikeouts over seven innings, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Minnesota Twins 5-0 on Thursday.
Teoscar Hernández and Mike Ford homered as Seattle earned a split of the four-game set, but the afternoon belonged to Seattle’s All-Star pitcher.
“That’s the way he is. He goes and attacks every hitter,” Hernández said. “He’s not afraid to back-to-back fastball, just throw fastball to anybody on the other team.”
Kirby was terrific on a day when the Mariners needed a morale boost after they learned starting outfielder Jarred Kelenic will be out for an extended period after breaking a bone in his left foot.
Kirby retired 11 of his first 12 batters and didn’t allow a hit until Matt Wallner dribbled a single just inside the bag at third base with two outs in the fourth.
Kyle Farmer tripled with two outs in the fifth, but he was the only Twins baserunner to advance past first base with Kirby on the mound. Farmer was stranded when Julio Rodríguez ran down a drive from Christian Vázquez in right-center.
Kirby (9-8) allowed four hits, and the 10 strikeouts matched his outing against Miami last month. It was the rebound performance the Mariners were hoping to see after Kirby was knocked around for six earned runs and eight hits by Detroit last week.
It was the fourth time this season that Kirby followed a start when he allowed four earned runs or more by allowing one earned run or less.
“He loves the competition,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “I think that’s what sticks out more than anything else. When you watch him pitch, he just loves the, ‘Bring it on. I will give you my best effort.’ And he usually ends up on the right side of things.”
Hernández lined an RBI single during a laborious first inning for Pablo López, who went to a full count on four of his first seven batters and needed 36 pitches to get through the frame. López (5-6) settled down after the rocky beginning, but Hernández got the better of him again when he led off the fourth with his 16th homer.
López allowed six hits and struck out seven, but the high pitch count early on had the Twins going to their bullpen by the sixth.
“I think physically probably the best I felt in a while,” López said. “(Velocity) was there. I held up all the way to the end. Pitches looked sharp. Just that first inning really got in the way.”
Ford hit a two-run shot off reliever Jorge López in the eighth inning. Ford has 27 hits since coming up from Triple-A, 10 of them homers.
INJURED LIST
Kelenic went on the 10-day injured list after breaking a bone in his left foot kicking a cooler in the dugout in the ninth inning of Wednesday’s loss. Kelenic lost his cool after striking out with two runners on base. Kelenic tearfully apologized for his actions, and there’s no timetable for his return.
DAY OFF
With the Twins in a stretch of 13 straight games without a day off coming out of the All-Star break, manager Rocco Baldelli kept shortstop Carlos Correa and right fielder Max Kepler out of the starting lineup. Kepler pinch-hit in the eighth inning and popped out.
UP NEXT
Twins: RHP Joe Ryan (8-6, 3.77 ERA) gets the start as Minnesota begins a series at home against the Chicago White Sox and Lance Lynn (6-8, 6.06 ERA). Ryan threw 5 1/3 innings and got a no-decision in his last start against Oakland.
Mariners: RHP Bryce Miller (6-3, 3.66 ERA) takes the mound as Seattle opens a series with Toronto. Former Mariners pitcher Yusei Kikuchi (7-3, 4.13 ERA) is scheduled to start for the visiting Blue Jays. Miller threw five shutout innings against Detroit in his return from the injured list due to a finger blister.
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