George Kirby Delivers Unfortunate Personal History as Tigers Tee Off on Mariners Ace
For the second time in as many weeks, the Detroit Tigers proved to be a thorn in the side of Seattle Mariners' ace George Kirby.
After being beaten by Detroit last Wednesday, Kirby was roughed up by Detroit again on Tuesday night in what was the worst start of his major league career.
Kirby lasted just 3.2 innings, surrendering 11 earned runs on 13 hits. This was the most runs he's ever allowed and was tied for his shortest outing of the season.
Tigers 11, M's 1.
— Adam Jude (@A_Jude) August 13, 2024
Jake Rogers grand slam off George Kirby.
Most runs Kirby has allowed in his career, and this will matched his shortest outing of the season (3.2 IP).
The Tigers had his number from the word go, as they scored one run in the first inning, four in the third and six in the fourth. Kirby allowed a pair of home runs to Kerry Carpenter, who was fresh off the 60-day injured list, and surrendered a grand slam to Jake Rogers. While the stat line was incredibly ugly, it was also incredibly questionable. There were multiple plays that could have been ruled errors and weren't, including a botched possible double play ball by Josh Rojas and an infield single that was made possible because of some miscommunication in covering first base. And if those plays had been made, perhaps Kirby would have gotten out of some innings earlier.
Kirby also wasn't helped in the first inning when Victor Robles would have thrown a runner out at third, but the throw was missed by Rojas as well.
Kirby is one of the best pitchers in the American League but the Tigers' ultra-aggressive approach at the plate certainly causes issues for him. Kirby has the best control in the game, and the Tigers take advantage by swinging early and often. His ERA is now 3.73 for the year.
The Mariners and Tigers will play again on Wednesday at 3:40 p.m. PT.
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