This Poor George Kirby Stat Will Blow Your Mind as He Starts Again For Seattle Mariners

In two starts since coming off the injured list, Seattle Mariners star George Kirby hasn't looked like himself yet. He's gone 0-2 with an 11.42 ERA. The 27-year-old has thrown only 8.2 innings in the two starts, and owns a WHIP of 1.85.

Kirby missed the entire season with right shoulder inflammation before coming back for a start against the Houston Astros on May 22.

We recently caught up with Buster Olney of ESPN on the Refuse to Lose podcast to discuss Kirby's issues and to find out how long needs to transpire before getting nervous about a guy who is "trying to figure it out."

Long ​time. ​He's ​earned ​that. ​You ​know, ​he ​was ​that ​good ​in ​2024. ​And, ​you would ​assume ​he's ​going to ​be ​better ​as ​he ​moves ​forward, ​but ​what ​we've ​seen ​the ​first ​two ​starts ​is ​a ​lot ​of ​hard ​contact. ​I ​was ​looking ​at ​some ​of ​the ​numbers ​as ​I ​was ​getting ​ready ​to ​talk ​to ​you ​today. ​He ​has ​a ​soft ​contact ​rate ​of ​just ​3%. ​That's ​impossible ​for ​it ​to ​have ​a ​number ​that ​low. ​And, it's ​pretty ​clear ​that, ​the ​last ​couple ​of ​years ​his ​slider ​has ​been ​a ​really ​valuable ​pitch ​for him, and in ​two ​starts ​this ​year, ​the ​slider? ​He's ​gotten ​hammered ​with ​that. And ​I ​do ​think ​that ​when ​guys ​come ​off ​the ​injured ​list, ​that ​it ​does ​take ​them ​some time ​typically, ​and ​maybe ​he's ​going ​to ​need ​four ​or ​five ​starts ​and ​then ​eventually, ​he'll ​go ​back ​to ​being ​in ​the ​reliable ​pitcher ​that ​he's ​been ​in ​the ​past.

An All-Star in 2023, Kirby is 35-28 lifetime with a 3.56 ERA. He'll pitch again on Tuesday as the M's host the Baltimore Orioles at 6:40 p.m. PT.