Cole Young, George Kirby Blast Angels 6-2, Give Mariners Much-Needed Boost

The Mariners haven’t clawed their way out of the hole they dug over half a month in June. They are still a half game back in the AL West as the Rangers have forced them into a raise-or-fold situation. 

But they began to dig a path on Monday, winning a game they needed to win and returning to a .500 record. They finally had some extra base hits and held a good lead - with mammoth homers off of Angels pitching - while George Kirby roared to life in a super-quality, near-complete outing. When Jose A. Ferrer worked through a light jam to complete the game in the ninth, Seattle walked away with a 6-2 win and the seeds of a new outlook on the season.

George Kirby gutted out an eight-inning start, moving to fourth all-MLB in innings pitched.

Coming off three straight quality starts, Kirby had been on something of a hot streak going into Monday’s game. But due to a lack of offense on the other side in these starts, Kirby had lost two of these three outings. The Mariners’ hitters woke up on the other side on Monday, giving him a win, but Kirby put in one of his best outings all year as he found legions of grounders from free-swinging Angels bats.

Things didn’t start off super well, however, as Kirby leaked a heater over the middle of the plate to Halos leadoff guy Zach Neto for a double. Denzer Guzman quickly chopped a ball off Josh Naylor’s glove and the visitors had a run on the board.

The Halos didn’t follow up on that run as Nolan Schanuel grounded into a double play two pitches later, the second of 12 ground balls from Angels bats. What could have been a crooked first inning had Kirby let his guard down became a meager single run for the visitors. After the game, the M’s hurler talked about his attitude in those situations and the way he needs to approach things when the game begins to go against him.