George Kirby Further Separates Himself in Recent Baseball History with Gem on Wednesday

By getting himself right on Wednesday night against the Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners' pitcher George Kirby continued to separate himself in recent baseball history in terms.

May 29, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners starter George Kirby (68) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Houston Astros at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports / Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports

The Seattle Mariners got a great bounceback performance on Wednesday night from right-hander George Kirby as they beat the Houston Astros, 2-1, in 10 innings at T-Mobile Park.

The 26-year-old went 6.0 innings against the division rivals, surrendering just one run on six hits. He walked none and struck out eight, further separating himself from the pack in some recent baseball history.

Per @MarinersPR on social media:

George Kirby has 21 quality starts with 0 walks in his career, most in @MLB since he made his debut and 8 more than next-closest Zach Eflin-TB (13) & Zac Gallen-ARI (13) in that span.

George Kirby has 21 quality starts with 0 walks in his career, most in @MLB since he made his debut and 8 more than next-closest Zach Eflin-TB (13) & Zac Gallen-ARI (13) in that span.

— Mariners PR (@MarinersPR) May 30, 2024

One, that's elite control from Kirby to have that many quality starts with no walks. Two, considering that Gallen has started an All-Star Game (2023), it's impressive that Kirby is that far ahead of him. Sure, Kirby only debuted in 2021, but that's still a big enough sample size of time to understand how special Kirby's talent and control are.

It's been a bit of a struggle for Kirby this season, as he's just 4-5 with a 4.08 ERA, but nights like Wednesday continue to show why he's thought of as one of the top pitchers in the American League. An All-Star in 2023 himself, Kirby is 25-20 lifetime with a 3.49 ERA. He has struck out 65 batters in 68.1 innings this season.

The Mariners will enter play on Thursday at 31-26 overall and 3.5 games ahead of the Texas Rangers in the American League West. They'll take on the Astros again on Thursday at 1:10 p.m. PT.

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