Seattle Mariners, Detroit Tigers AL Cy Young Candidates to Face Off on Wednesday
SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners dropped the first of a three-game series to the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday.
On paper the game should have been a win for the Mariners as they went against struggling Tigers rookie Keider Montero.
Montero ended up having a career-best game with eight strikeouts and helped lead Detroit to a 4-2 win over Seattle. He beat Luis Castillo despite Castillo throwing another quality start. He gave up just three runs in six innings.
Most fans didn't expect Tuesday to be a pitcher's duel. But a lot of fans do expect Wednesday's game to be.
The Tigers will start 2024 All-Star Tarik Skubal and the Mariners will send out their 2023 All-Star George Kirby. Both pitchers have had amazing seasons and have one thing in common — they're both American League Cy Young candidates.
According to MLB's updated Cy Young rankings — Skubal ranks first in the AL Cy Young rankings and Kirby checks in at fourth. Baltimore Orioles pitcher Corbin Burnes is second, Kansas City Royals hurler Seth Lugo is third and Kirby's teammate Logan Gilbert is fifth.
MLB has updated its current AL CY Young rankings.
— EastCoastM’s🔱 (@EastCoastMs_) August 6, 2024
Two Seattle Mariners are in the Top 5….
Logan Gilbert and George Kirby👀 pic.twitter.com/rnZxL9GfB6
Both Skubal and Kirby are in the middle of career-best seasons. Skubal has a 2.57 ERA this season with 162 strikeouts in 22 starts and 136.1 innings pitched. Kirby has a 3.04 ERA in 23 starts with 131 strikeouts in 136 innings pitched.
And while usually dependable, both pitchers are coming off some sub-par results.
Kirby's streak of nine consecutive quality starts was broken on July 31 against the Boston Red Sox. He allowed two earned runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings pitched.
Skubal allowed five earned runs on seven hits in 6.1 innings pitched on Aug. 2 against the Kansas City Royals.
Whichever pitcher is able to bounce back and prevail on Wednesday will have an extra entry in their resume for the Cy Young award.
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