Monday night at T-Mobile Park the Seattle Mariners erased an early hole to post a 6-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels a win that nudged their record back to .500 and kept them within a half-game of the Texas Rangers in the AL West
Kirby’s Masterclass on the Mound
Right-hander George Kirby turned in perhaps the most polished outing of his career laboring eight innings while surrendering just seven hits and striking out seven He limited the Angels to two runs one of them earned and left the game with the Mariners firmly in control He also gave up a one-out double to Josh Lowe in the fifth inning
Cole Young provided the offensive spark that matched Kirby’s dominance launching a pair of homers that swung the momentum His eighth-inning blast cut the deficit to 2-1 in the third and a two-out shot in the sixth stretched the lead to 4-2
The Mariners’ comeback started with Zach Neto opening the game with a double to center field off Kirby followed by a RBI single from Denzer Guzman that gave Los Angeles a 1-0 edge Neto later added his 18th home run in the third inning to further fuel the surge
Kirby struck out the side including Neto to end the fifth inning and later in the sixth Josh Naylor walked and stole second in front of Young’s two-out shot that made it 4-2
Randy Arozarena was hit by a two-out pitch in the fourth inning and both runners scored on Cal Raleigh’s bloop single for a 3-2 lead
Dominic Canzone added his 13th homer to make it 4-2 in the sixth inning while Ryan Johnson allowed three runs one earned in five innings and Mitch Farris was tagged for three runs in three innings
Reliever José A Ferrer closed out the ninth with a scoreless frame preserving the margin and the Mariners finished the night with a 6-2 victory
The win lifted Seattle to a .500 record and kept them hot on the heels of the Texas Rangers who sit atop the AL West The Mariners will look to carry this momentum into a pivotal series against the Rangers beginning with a matchup against RHP Bryce Miller The Angels are set to counter with RHP Walbert Ureña who enters the game with a 3.14 ERA