George Kirby Reaches Milestone, Helps Seattle Mariners End Skid

Now, they are looking up from second place at the Houston Astros. The victory on Sunday ended Seattle's five-game losing streak, some good news that the team desperately needed.

“It's just a great sign as I'm progressing through the season,” Kirby said, according to MLB.com. “We needed a big one today, and hopefully this sets the tone.”

Shoulder injury kept George Kirby out of Mariners rotation

Kirby missed the first eight weeks of the 2025 season, dealing with right shoulder inflammation. When he came back, Kirby was not pitching well at all. In his first three games, Kirby went 0-3 with an 8.56 ERA.

“It's probably one of the most important starts we’ve had,” catcher Mitch Garver said after Sunday's win. “We can pump him up as much as we need to, to tell him how good he is, but he also has to prove it to himself. We know who George is, and that's the guy he can be.”

Garver filled in for Cal Raleigh, who has been mashing the ball all season long. Raleigh had a planned rest day, so he watched the action from the Mariners dugout.

Kirby reached his 500th strikeout faster than all but two players in Mariners franchise history. Kirby did it in 527.2 innings, putting him behind only James Paxton (492.2) and Logan Gilbert (503.2).

Seattle continues its road trip by opening up a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night. The Mariners look to carry momentum from Sunday's win into this tough matchup against a National League West team.