Mariners' George Kirby apologizes to manager Scott Servais for wishing for earlier removal
ST. PETERBURG, Fla - Seattle Mariners pitcher George Kirby apologized to manager Scott Servais for saying he wished he wasn’t sent back to the mound for the seventh inning of a 7-4 loss to Tampa Bay after reaching the 90-pitch mark.
Servais said he talked with the 25-year-old right-hander "for a long time" both Friday night and Saturday morning.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JULY 25: George Kirby #68 of the Seattle Mariners looks on against the Minnesota Twins on July 25, 2023 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images)
"He said ‘Skip, that’s not who I am," Servais said before Saturday's game. "We all know George is a very fiery — he's a competitor. He's learning. It's an opportunity to learn moving forward. The biggest thing with George is, we move forward. Love having him out there."
Seattle led 4-2 when Kirby returned to the mound in the seventh. After Taylor Wells grounded out, Jose Siri doubled and René Pinto followed with a tying homer on Kirby’s 102 and final pitch.
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"When you make mistakes that only affects yourself, it's not that big of a deal," Servais said. "But once it starts affecting other people, that's kind of when you take notice. I think this is one George will learn from."
Kirby is 10-9 with a 3.48 ERA in 27 starts this season.