George Kirby outlasts Paul Skenes, Mariners post third straight shutout of Pirates

SEATTLE – By the time George Kirby and Paul Skenes stepped onto the field to stage their much-anticipated showdown Sunday, they were already too late.

The best and brightest performances of the day had concluded a couple hours earlier, when girls and boys from Shoreline and Snoqualmie Valley little leagues staged their Play Ball Challenger Game at T-Mobile Park.

Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford and reliever Carlos Vargas took turns soft-tossing tee balls to the kids at the plate, and other Mariners teammates helped the kids run bases or field grounders.

Since 2018, the Mariners have hosted a local Challenger game, an adaptive program designed for children with physical and intellectual challenges, and even the most hardened cynic wouldn’t be able to suppress a genuine smile at the sight of those kids playing in a major-league ballpark.

“My favorite day of the year,” Mariners chairman John Stanton beamed while watching from the edge of the field.

On a picture-perfect Seattle summer afternoon, the scene simply does not get any better.

And then it did.

In what will go down as a historic day for the Mariners, Kirby and Skenes lived up to the hype in their premier pitching matchup.

Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 23-year-old phenom, was nearly untouchable over five his dominant innings.

Kirby, the Mariners’ 2023 All-Star right-hander, was just a little better for a little longer in a 1-0 victory to complete the Mariners’ memorable three-game sweep.

Vargas, Gabe Speier and Muñoz (21st save) closed the door over the final 22/3 innings, and the Mariners (48-42) held the Pirates scoreless for the entire series, the first time in franchise history they’ve had three shutouts in a row.

“Everybody’s been freaking awesome,” Kirby said of the pitching staff. “It’s been tough on the other teams when those guys come in. Everyone’s coming in guns blazing and just letting eat.”

On the same day they had three more players named to the American League All-Star team – center fielder Julio Rodriguez, starting pitcher Bryan Woo and closer Andrés Muñoz – the M’s also posted back-to-back 1-0 victories for the first time in franchise history.

Randy Arozarena hit another home run – his sixth in seven days to conclude the homestand – off Pirates reliever Carmen Mlodzinski for the game’s only run in the sixth inning.

As Woo and Luis Castillo had done the previous two days, Kirby went after a limited Pirates lineup aggressively, getting ahead early and trying to put away batters efficiently.

Kirby pitched into the seventh inning for just the second time this season, scattering four hits over 61/3 scoreless innings.

He struck out nine with no walks, and left to a standing ovation from much of the crowd of 35,174 after manager Dan Wilson made a call to the bullpen with one out in the seventh.

After missing the first two months of the season because of shoulder inflammation, Kirby has settled in nicely. He has allowed just two runs in his past three starts, with a 17-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his last 181/3 innings.

And in seven starts since June 3, Kirby has a 2.68 ERA, with 42 strikeouts and six walks over 401/3 innings.

“I’m just glad I’m able to stack some good games. That’s kind of what it all is all about for me,” Kirby said. “I know I can do it once, but I want to be able to do it over and over again. I feel good and feel like I’m hitting stride. And I think a lot of guys (feel) the same way.”

Skenes, the National League Cy Young favorite, scattered five hits over five shutout innings, with no walks and 10 strikeouts. He narrowly escaped a first-inning jam when center fielder Oneil Cruz threw out Crawford at the plate.

Crawford had lined Skenes’ first pitch up the middle for a single and advanced to second when Skenes hit Cal Raleigh in the back foot with a first-pitch slider.

Jorge Polanco followed with a line-drive single over the shortstop’s head. Crawford waited momentarily to make sure the line drive would drop in the outfield, then turned the corner at third and headed home for what initially looked like a sure run.

Instead, Cruz fired a missile home right on target to catcher Henry Davis.

Crawford failed to slide on the play – and Arozarena, the on-deck hitter, did not signal to Crawford to slide – and Davis applied the tag on the runner’s leg just before Crawford touched the plate.

The out call was upheld after the umpires’ review.

Dominic Canzone was 3 for 3. He had two singles off Skenes, the first hitter to record multiple hits off Skenes since May 28.

Notably, the Pirates (38-53) came to Seattle on Friday with a six-game winning streak, and they had shut out the St. Louis Cardinals in all three games of their previous series. The Pirates became the first team in MLB history to then turn around and get shut out in their next series.

The Mariners went 11-6 to wrap up a stretch of 17 games in 17 days – 10 on the road, seven at home. They have an off-day Monday before beginning a daunting six-game road trip to play the New York Yankees (49-41) and Detroit Tigers (57-34).

“We’re definitely going to enjoy the rest (Monday), and I think a lot of our guys need it,” Wilson said. “They’ve pushed hard, no doubt about it, and that’s a testament to the character that’s in that clubhouse.”