George Kirby posted a career-high 14 strikeouts across seven innings as the Seattle Mariners earned a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday afternoon at Anaheim, Calif.
Kirby (1-3) – who made just his fourth start of the season after dealing with right shoulder inflammation – allowed just two earned runs on two hits and walked none, helping the Mariners snap a five-game losing streak.
Seattle closer Andres Munoz walked Jorge Soler to begin the bottom of the ninth before striking out Zach Neto, retiring Nolan Schanuel on a liner and then getting Mike Trout to strike out, securing his 18th save of the year. Randy Arozarena went 3-for-5 with an RBI in the win.
Tyler Anderson (2-3) allowed three earned runs on eight hits in 4 2/3 innings while striking out six and walking one. Taylor Ward’s two-run homer in the fourth accounted for all of the Angels’ scoring as the club had its two-game winning streak snapped.
Seattle jumped on Anderson early, as J.P. Crawford worked a leadoff walk in the first before scoring on Arozarena’s one-out double.
The Mariners threatened again in the third as Julio Rodriguez reached on third baseman Luis Rengifo’s error and Arozarena doubled to put two runners in scoring position. From there, Anderson struck out Mitch Garver, Rodriguez was tagged out by Rengifo at third on a grounder and Jorge Polanco struck out to end the frame.
The Angels’ first base runner came in the bottom of the fourth when Trout laced a two-out single. Ward then followed with his 18th homer of the season – a 432-foot shot – to give Los Angeles a 2-1 lead.
Arozarena and Garver singled with one out before Polanco knotted the score at 2 with an RBI single to center in the top of the fifth. Seattle then reclaimed the lead on Donovan Solano’s run-scoring single, chasing Anderson for reliever Hunter Strickland.
Kirby’s strikeout of Trout to begin the bottom of the seventh set a career-high for the 27-year-old – surpassing his previous mark of 12 strikeouts on April 27, 2024 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Kirby then struck out Ward and got Chris Taylor to line out to end the seventh.
–Field Level Media
