George Kirby’s gem, Cal Raleigh’s walkoff give Mariners wild victory in 10 innings
A lifelong Yankees fan, George Kirby gave everything he had in his first start again his childhood team.
Then he threw everything he had to retire Yankees slugger Aaron Judge one final time.
In the most impressive start of his young career, Kirby shut down Judge and the Yankees for eight dominant innings, and Cal Raleigh delivered the clutch hit the Mariners needed in the 10th inning to pull off a thrilling 1-0 victory Wednesday night.
“It felt like a playoff game (with) the atmosphere and the jitters I had,” said Kirby, a native of Rye, N.Y.
Another native New Yorker, Mariners reliever Justin Topa, worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the top of the 10th inning, striking out pinch-hitter Franchy Cordero on a 3-2 sinker on the inside corner to keep the game scoreless.
Raleigh hit a solid line-drive single to right field on a 2-2 changeup from the Yankees’ Ron Marinaccio, scoring automatic-runner Jose Caballero from second base to help Seattle avoid a series sweep before a crowd of 24,596 at T-Mobile Park.
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That also gave Topa, a 32-year-old journeyman reliever, his first career victory. Text messages poured in from Topa’s friends and family back home in Binghamton, N.Y.
“It’s definitely surreal, especially growing up in New York as a Yankee fan,” he said. “I haven’t really wrapped my head around it.”
Kirby, naturally, was more amped than usual for his first start against his childhood team.
Raleigh could sense that in the bullpen during pregame warmups, and it was evident to everyone watching his first few pitches on the T-Mobile Park mound.
Kirby touched 99 mph in a strikeout of the Yankees’ leadoff hitter, Gleyber Torres, the fastest pitch of his career.
“Classic George,” Raleigh said. “He was locked in.”
Kirby was virtually untouchable all night, allowing just three hits with no walks and seven strikeouts, just five days after posting one of the worst starts of his career in a loss to the Pirates.
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“He’s about ready to rip somebody’s head off,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said, relaying his reaction to watching Kirby early on.
The lanky 25-year-old right-hander, as self-assured as they come, insisted he was able to move past the loss to the Pirates a day later. He was already moving on to prepare for the Yankees.
“It’s hard to get me twice,” he said. “I’m glad I came out today and did my thing.”
In a scoreless game, Kirby’s nerves must have hit a crescendo in his final at-bat against Judge in the seventh inning. Kirby had tried a little bit of everything in that at-bat — throwing a first-pitch slider that Judge fouled off, a sinker, a four-seamer and three curveballs.
It was that last curveball, on a 3-2 pitch, that Kirby left elevated in the middle of the zone. Judge put a good swing on, sending it high and far to left field.
“He almost got me,” Kirby said.
Jarred Kelenic got under the fly ball on the warning track in left field for the most uneasy out of the night for Kirby.
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What, he was asked, was his game plan for Judge?
Kirby smirked.
“Just try not to let him hit a home run.”
The reigning American League MVP had homered three times to lead the Yankees to victories in the first two games of the series, as New York outscored the Mariners 20-6 combined.
“You’ve just got to attack him,” Kirby said. “You’ve got to be super precise, live on the edges and throw some spin down.”
When Judge came up to bat in the ninth inning with two outs and Paul Sewald on the mound, Servais elected to intentionally walk Judge.
It worked. Sewald got Willie Calhoun to fly out for the final out of the ninth.
Kirby got some typically spectacular defense behind him.
J.P. Crawford made a sprawling catch to glove a 106-mph line drive off the bat of Torres for the final out of the top of the sixth inning, stranding Kyle Higashioka at second base.
That was the only runner the Yankees advanced into scoring position against Kirby.
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Julio Rodriguez made a terrific running catch at the wall in left-center to haul in an Isiah Kiner-Falefa drive for the final out of the seventh inning.
“What an outing,” Servais said. “You can’t throw the ball much better than what George Kirby did tonight.”
The Mariners couldn’t get anything going against Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt, who allowed just three hits over 5 2/3 scoreless innings.
The game felt eerily similar to the Yankees’ last trip to Seattle, last August, when the Mariners won 1-0 on another walkoff hit by another catcher, Luis Torrens in the 13th inning.
The victory Wednesday helped the Mariners (29-27) close this 10-game homestand with a 7-3 record. They head to first-place Texas to begin a key 10-game, three-city road series Friday.
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Source: The Seattle Times
