George Kirby, Mariners Scrape 1-0 Win in Baltimore to Jump Into First Place in AL West
BALTIMORE, Md. – It wasn’t the same type of win produced on a high-scoring homestand, but it was an eighth straight win nonetheless for the Seattle Mariners, who opened their series against the Baltimore Orioles by pitching their way to a 1-0 victory.
Without a doubt, the outcome of the game rested on Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby, who twirled a gorgeous seven-inning outing that in olden days would have become a complete game shutout. But times have changed and heaven knows anything goes – so the last two innings were the task of Seattle’s lockdown bullpen. And they got the job done, making sure Seattle’s one run was enough for the victory.
M’s Remain Aggressive on Basepaths
For quite a few weeks now, the Seattle Mariners have been one of the most aggressive teams in baseball when it comes to base stealing. Runners all across the lineup, from speedy guys like Randy Arozarena and Julio Rodriguez to the crafty base-swiping of the relatively slow Josh Naylor, have been turning walks and singles into doubles at a breakneck pace. From July 24 to August 10, the M’s swiped 34 bases during 17 total games.
This aggression continued early on Tuesday evening, as Randy Arozarena whacked a ball into center to lead off the first and swiped second with one away. This ended up being one of the key plays of the ballgame, as Josh Naylor knocked one into the outfield grass for a RBI single to put the M’s up 1-0 – the only run either team scored all game.
It didn’t work as well in the fourth. Julio Rodriguez drew a leadoff walk and Baltimore starter Dean Kremer immediately put all his attention on the baserunner. Two pickoff attempts held Rodriguez a little closer to the bag than he might ordinarily have been, but he bolted on a 2-2 pitch. The only problem was that it was a fastball away that gave Adley Rutschman the chance he needed to gun down Rodriguez at second.
But the Mariners’ aggressive baserunning style has clearly had far more upside than downside in these recent weeks. Pitchers have to split their attention between batter and runner, and by defending everything, they often end up defending nothing. Kremer mostly kept his bearings in the first, but did still cede the eventual game-winning run due to that stolen base.
Dean Kremer Locks In
After the fourth, the game became a hard-nosed pitcher’s duel. Orioles starter Dean Kremer more than held up his end of the bargain, getting a pitcher-friendly mixture of soft contact and swings and misses as Seattle went down quickly inning after inning.
Kremer sent down the M’s on eight pitches in the fifth, taking advantage of a double play ball, and then kept up the efficiency with a nine-pitch sixth. Taking just 11 pitches to get three outs in the seventh was a comparative downgrade. Seattle finally got a man on again with two outs in the eighth, but nothing came of the chance.
The Oriole hurler struck out six, walked one, and gave up five hits (all singles) in his eight-inning gem. Seattle was comparatively better with runners in scoring position than they had been over the previous homestand, but that was due to the fact that they only ever got one guy in scoring position during the entire game.
But with his loss, Dean Kremer can say that he got King Felix’d. And that was due to George Kirby.
Kirby Shuts Out Orioles
It’s been something of a tale of two seasons for Mariners starter George Kirby. Coming back in late May after missing nearly two months with injury, Kirby looked shaky to start off his 2025 campaign. He went 1-3 over his first six starts with an ugly 6.16 ERA.
But from his outing on June 25 through Tuesday’s lockdown start, Kirby has been blowing the doors off his opponents. In those nine starts, he has a 7-2 record and a 2.31 ERA.
That figure includes Tuesday’s game, where he had one of his best starts of 2025. Kirby went seven innings, punching out seven while walking none and giving up just three hits. The big number was the first line on the scoreboard, however, as Baltimore walked away with a giant goose egg at Kirby’s hand.
Kirby had pinpoint control for the entire game, painting all of his pitch types on the corners of the plate and keeping his opponents guessing as to what was coming. And what’s more, he worked with an efficiency that kept Seattle from having to deal with much exhaustion at all. With the help of a third-inning double play, the Mariners’ pitcher faced the minimum through three all while throwing just 39 pitches.
The fourth inning provided Baltimore their first real chance at scoring. With two away, Gunnar Henderson grounded a ball through the infield into right center and got to second due to a slow pickup from Dominic Canzone. Rutschman kept a good eye, forcing Kirby to work as he laid off some close pitches and worked a 3-2 count – but Kirby got him fishing for a slider low and in to end the inning with Seattle’s 1-0 lead still intact.
Kirby got going after that and didn’t let up. The fifth went by on 13 pitches, the sixth on 16. The Mariners’ starter went into the seventh on 82 total pitches and left on 87, getting two outs on two pitches before striking out Ryan Mountcastle on three. The last pitch was a 97 mile an hour heater on top of the zone that showed that Kirby probably had some gas left in the tank.
Bullpen Shuts Door
In any case, Dan Wilson went to his trusted bullpen for the eighth inning. Eduard Bazardo went in for the hold and got the first out, but Ryan Noda slapped a single into center field. Just like that, the O’s had the tying run on base and the go-ahead run at the plate. Bazardo pounded the outside edge of the plate to strike out Dylan Carlson for the second out.
Gabe Speier was called upon to pitch to Greg Allen. Although Allen is a switch hitter, his performance against lefties during his career is significantly worse than against right-handers. Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino pulled Allen for pinch-hitter Jeremiah Jackson, but Jackson lined out to center on the first pitch he saw.
Andrés Muñoz went out to the mound for the ninth-inning save. Although he easily worked through the first two batters, Muñoz walked Henderson on four pitches to bring up Adley Rutschman with a chance to walk it off for the Orioles.
Cal Raleigh went out to the mound, followed by the infielders. As home plate umpire Mike Muchlinski came out to the mound to break up the meeting, Muñoz signaled to Wilson, seemingly dizzy for a little bit before getting his bearings back out there and returning to the rubber to finish off his inning.
What followed was one of those sequences that absolutely epitomized the game of inches. Adley Rutschman grounded a ball towards the third base side of the infield. Were Eugenio Suárez near the edge of the outfield grass, he would have easily scooped up the ball for the third out – but he was playing close and it skipped into left, putting the tying run at second and winning run at first with Ryan Mountcastle at the dish.
Mountcastle tattooed an 0-1 inside slider down the left field line well over the wall, but the would-be walk-off homer curled outside the foul pole for a harmless foul ball. And a few pitches later, the Orioles designated hitter chopped a ball right to J.P. Crawford for the final out. Both teams almost won in the bottom of the ninth, but it was Seattle who actually did.
Finding Ways to Win
This is what good teams do. Even when everything doesn’t go according to plan, key players step up and do what it takes for the team to come away with a victory in the standings and a leg up on their competition. The offense didn’t do much on Tuesday, but in the end, the team’s momentum is still going strong. Eight straight. It doesn’t matter how they come, a win is a win is a win.
And even though the offense had less traffic than a rural Alaska road in January, they found a way to get the one run they needed. Arozarena’s stolen base was alongside Kirby’s outing as a reason why Seattle won the first game of this series, and Naylor’s ability to get the bat on the ball and find a hole was crucial.
On Deck
With their win to open the nine-game road trip, the M’s have triumphed in eight straight contests and now have a record of 67-53, on pace for 90 wins. Obviously, a team is never as good as they look when they’re winning, but this August stretch for Seattle is pretty much the best way you could hope this team opens a month.
And the Houston Astros are skidding at just the right time, too. The M’s win pulled them within half a game of the AL West-leaders, and a few hours later, the Astros lost to Boston and their record dropped to 67-53. The Mariners are tied for first in the American League West.
Imagine saying that a month ago.
