George Kirby will get the ball for the Seattle Mariners for the second time in the ALCS on Monday night, and it can’t go the same way as his first outing of the series if they’re going to make it to the World Series.
John Smoltz: George Kirby can lead the Mariners to World Series
The Toronto Blue Jays roughed up Kirby for eight earned runs in four innings as they won Game 3 in Seattle last Wednesday 13-4. But the one-time All-Star has been successful in every other postseason outing in his career.
Mariners broadcaster Aaron Goldsmith joined Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Monday morning and pointed to what the M’s and Kirby need to do in the franchise’s first ever Game 7.
“It was a lot of sinkers and sliders, he threw a ton of two-seam fastballs,” Goldsmith said of Kirby’s Game 3 start. “He did not use the four-seamer quite as much. … The number was down because of all the sliders that he threw. Maybe he goes back to that four-seamer.
“I mean, he got beat around, as we know, in his first outing against the Blue Jays in the series. They need to find a different gameplan than the first. And if that is 96 to 98 mph on the top rail, and a slider off the plate or a back foot to a lefty, maybe that is the gameplan.”
The Mariners have struggled to find an answer for the Blue Jays’ juggernaut of an offense, with Bryce Miller the lone Seattle starting pitcher to neutralize them in the ALCS.
That means the M’s have a tall task in the winner-take-all Game 7.
“The Blue Jays have a superpower right now that the Mariners don’t have. That is they’re just on everything,” Goldsmith said. “I mean, they’re on it when it’s in the strike zone, they’re on it when it’s on the edges, they’re on it when it’s out of the strike zone.
“They’re an insanely difficult team to pitch to right now, and they have currently the outlier best hitter on the planet in their lineup, and that’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. He’s putting together a postseason for the ages. He’s hit six home runs and he’s struck out twice, and the Mariners have struck him out one time. It’s insane. The Blue Jays as a team, I know it’s just six games, but that’s all we have to work with in this series right now – they’re striking out 14% of the time as a team while slugging. They’re a freight train offensively right now.”
Hear the full Brock and Salk conversation with Goldsmith at this link or in the video and audio players near the top of this post.
Game 7 of the ALCS between the Mariners and Blue Jays is set for a 5:10 p.m. first pitch on Monday night. The radio broadcast will be on the Seattle Sports app beginning at 4 p.m. with the Mariners Radio Network pregame show, as well as on 770 AM and 98.9 FM. Goldsmith will be on the radio call along with Rick Rizzs and Gary Hill Jr.
Seattle Mariners ALCS coverage
• Radio: Both M’s ALCS Game 7, Seahawks-Texans on Seattle Sports app
• Mariners need to be sharper in Game 7 than they were in Game 6
• If the Mariners are going to make World Series, this is the way it should be
• Mariners-Blue Jays Game 7 pitching matchup not just about starters
• Morosi: What stands out as Seattle Mariners head to Game 7
