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Seattle Mariners rookie George Kirby got off to a historic start Wednesday against the Washington Nationals.
The 24-year-old set a major league record for throwing 24 straight strikes before the start of a game. He surpassed the mark previously set by Joe Musgrove with his Pittsburgh Pirates in 2018. Musgrove hit the mark against his Cardinals in St. Louis.
Kirby looked up and said he was surprised to see what he was doing.
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“I looked up at 15 or 16 and was like, ‘Oh man,'” he said.
Kirby was on top form even when the Mariners lost 3-1.according to to MLB.com, Kirby was thrown out of the zone just once in 24 strikes. He pitched to a three-ball count only once and issued a zero walk.
Kirby told reporters, “I just got the whole at-bat ready.” “I mean, if you get a strike 1, the hitter now has to field five pitches. Just attack. That’s what I’ve been doing all my life. I really try and take corners. I just hit . Only really good quality strikes. That’s kind of a thing. Sometimes I throw one of the things I’ve been concentrating on in the middle.”
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Kirby said he was trying to follow the mantra of “dominating the zone”.
“I was like, ‘I’m a man of it. They’ve been preaching since day one. That’s what I’ve been really true to myself. I just go out there and attack. You can’t.’ Just throwing strikes is a shame. That’s the name of the game now.
Kirby pitched in the bottom of the 7th inning for the second time this season since July 2nd. He had a career-high nine strikeouts, with 69 of his 85 pitches being struck out.
Nationals infielder Ildemaro Vargas hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to slow the Mariners’ game down.
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Mariners rookie Julio Rodriguez hit 20 home runs. He became his fourth rookie to achieve his 20 home runs and his 20 stolen bases in the same season, Oakland in 1977 Mitchell Page, which he achieved with the Athletics, and Boston Red Ellis, which he achieved with the Sox in 1987. Following Burks, and Marty Cordova, who achieved. He moved to the Minnesota Twins in 1995.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.