Seattle Mariners Ace Pitchers Continue to Pace League in Recent History
Despite the overall team struggles, the Seattle Mariners continue to have one of the best pitching staffs in all of baseball.
George Kirby recorded a quality start for the Mariners on Wednesday after having just one in his five starts before.
He went six innings and struck out nine batters without giving up a free base en route to a 16-3 win against the Oakland Athletics.
It was a refreshing return to form for Kirby, who had struggled in his recent outing after having a streak of nine quality starts that ended on July 31.
Wednesday represented more than just a potential get-back game for Kirby. It also continued to set him above the rest of the back in a very impressive statistic.
According to Mariners PR, Kirby's start on Wednesday was his 26th outing since 2022 pitching at least six innings without walking a batter. That's the most such outings in the league.
George Kirby's 2Ks in the 3rd.
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 5, 2024
6Ks thru 3. pic.twitter.com/SawNGjZPPL
Kirby's 26th game of six innings without a walk is six more than his teammate and fellow ace Logan Gilbert. Gilbert has 20 such outings since 2022. That's four more than three players tied for third — Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Logan Webb.
Most quality starts with 0 walks in @MLB since 2022:
— Mariners PR (@MarinersPR) September 5, 2024
26 -- GEORGE KIRBY
20 -- Logan Gilbert
16 -- Aaron Nola
16 -- Logan Webb
16 -- Zack Wheeler
Kirby has a 3.45 ERA and 467 strikeouts in 85 starts since 2022. Gilbert has a 3.34 ERA and 544 strikeouts in 92 starts over that same span.
Kirby and Gilbert, along with fellow starters Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo, have been examples of the exemplary work Seattle has done in developing starting pitching throughout their farm system.
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