The Seattle Mariners lost 7-4 to the Brewers on Thursday, but let’s be real, the game was essentially over in the first inning. Our guy George Kirby got absolutely shellacked. The Brewers sent a ridiculous 10 batters to the plate, stringing together a single, a walk, a double, two more singles, and then two more doubles, hanging six runs on him before anyone even had a chance to settle in at American Family Field. This isn’t just a loss, it’s another glaring symptom of a huge problem.
Kirby’s Collapse: What The Hell Happened?
Kirby’s day was done with the score 6-0 after a one-out single in the fourth inning. He didn’t get much better after that nightmarish first frame, even if more hard contact found gloves in the second and third. His 99.3 mph average exit velocity allowed was tied for the fifth highest by a starting pitcher across the entire league in 2026. This is not what we want to see from a supposed ace. Honestly, I’ve struggled to understand Kirby’s season for months. He hasn’t been good. The walks that plagued him last year are still popping up, but the extra strikeouts he once had? Gone. The tons of grounders he was getting in his first few outings this season, which felt like a nice compromise for the drop in whiffs, have vanished too. I don’t see anything different in his pitch mix, and the “stuff” models still think his zip is there. But he’s struggling to put away batters with two strikes. He can’t throw it over the plate without it getting crushed, and he can’t throw it out of the zone because batters aren’t fooled enough to chase. He’s kind of bad right now.
Dead Last In fWAR, But A Glimmer Of Hope
Kirby’s slump is unfortunately part of a larger, ugly trend for many Mariners pitchers. Yeah, the lineup’s mediocrity and “The Dan Wilson Conspiracy” keep stealing the headlines for what’s been a truly disappointing season. But the team’s relative collapse over the last two months lands squarely on the pitching staff. They are dead last in the majors in fWAR since the All-Star break. DEAD LAST! We’re on pace to finish below average for the second year in a row. It’s fair to wonder if pitching is still even a strength for this organization; it might actually be a weakness at this point.
Thankfully, the bullpen saved us from another disaster. The pitchers who followed Kirby actually kept us in the game, preventing a full-blown 22-0 massacre like Tuesday night. José Ferrer did well to finish out the fourth and get us out of that jam. Then Michael Rucker followed, and he was fantastic. Dare I say, “again!” He threw 2 2/3 innings, struck out four, and allowed no hits. He generated whiffs on six of 15 swings and chase on seven of 17 pitches out of the zone. You have to love that final at-bat against Garrett Mitchell. Rucker starts him with a cutter for a called strike, which was probably a lucky call. But after wasting a curve, he pumps a 97 mph fastball on the top rail and Mitchell swings at air. Then he drops the curve again, this time below the zone, for a swinging strikeout. Filth! The plots from FanGraphs show incredible separation between those two pitches, with a huge difference in movement and almost 15 mph between the fastball and curveball.
We need to see more of *that*. This pitching staff, from top to bottom, needs to find something, anything, to turn this around. We can’t keep watching our starters get hammered and our fWAR ranking hit rock bottom. Here’s hoping our relief arms like Rucker keep dealing because if the ‘pen is our only hope, it’s gonna be a long, frustrating ride in the Emerald City.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Lookout Landing.
Leave a Reply