Seattle Mariners star pitcher George Kirby delivered a gem in his team’s most important game of the season so far.
Facing the prospect of being left 2.5 games behind the Houston Astros for the last Wild Card spot, Kirby tossed six scoreless innings in front of his fans, with just one walk and four strikeouts.
The performance paved the way for the Mariners’ victory, and they are now just 0.5 games back for a spot in the postseason.
The night, however, almost ended in disaster for the young Mariners righty.
“It was literally a Mariners fan. Threw the ball back on field and hit George Kirby. Never seen that at a baseball game,” Mariners podcaster Sami On Tap tweeted, with a video of the incident.
It was literally a Mariners fan.
Threw the ball back on field and hit George Kirby.
Never seen that at a baseball game. pic.twitter.com/i3XsNJviRX
— Sami ON Tap (@SamiOnTap) September 27, 2023
Kirby was facing Kyle Tucker.
When he was getting ready to pitch, a fan threw a ball back to the diamond and hit Kirby in the chest area.
It was a scary moment that thankfully didn’t involve any regretful injuries.
It’s unclear if the fan threw the ball there with the purpose of hitting Kirby, but he did and he could have caused a severe injury had the impact been on his elbow, shoulder, or head.
The Mariners can’t afford to lose Kirby to injury.
He made his last start of the regular season but will be a key component of the M’s rotation if the team advances.
He has had a phenomenal season, with a 3.46 ERA in 30 starts and 184.2 innings.
With just 19 walks and 165 strikeouts, he is one of the league leaders in SO/BB (strikeouts per walk).
Seattle needs him to succeed, now and in the future.
The post The Mariners Avoided Disaster Tuesday Night Via A Fan appeared first on The Cold Wire.