Mariners kick off road trip with 10 runs, Kirby's first W

BALTIMORE -- The month of May will certainly not go in the books as impressive overall for the Mariners (10-18), but the last four games have been an eyebrow-raising turnaround for a club trying to get on track as June begins.

The offense raked early on and right-hander George Kirby was outstanding, earning his first Major League win, as the Mariners shut out the Orioles, 10-0. Seattle has now won three of its last four.

With his sister, Elon University's baseball coach and former teammates cheering him on at Camden Yards, Kirby earned his first win in his fifth career start with an emphatic showcase of his overpowering 97-mph four-seam fastball, a diving slider and an elusive curve.

"Great way to start the road trip,” said manager Scott Servais. “Nice to get George his first win. He was outstanding tonight. First inning, maybe not the fastball command he is used to having, but after that he got into it, had a real good curveball, good slider."

In six shutout frames, the 24-year-old right-hander struck out eight, allowing four hits with one walk, one hit-by-pitch on a career-high 94 pitches, 62 for strikes. Kirby struck out five of the final 10 batters he faced.

"I just felt comfortable,” Kirby said. “I was getting on top of my fastball a little bit better [in the] later innings. Starting to work better counts, not get behind."

On the dream of his first win as a big-league pitcher coming true: "This is a pretty awesome moment,” Kirby said. “I will remember it for a while. It's pretty cool."

Starting last Friday night, Seattle won a home series vs. the first-place Astros, then embarked on this nine-game road trip with an emphatic series-opening victory at Baltimore.

Right fielder Taylor Trammell was a major part of the scoring, lacing a season-high three base hits -- with two doubles -- and picking up a season-high four RBIs, in his seventh game of the year.

Trammell’s RBI doubles came in his first and final at-bats. He understood the importance of valuing every chance to hit, regardless of the score.

"Absolutely, because at the end of the year, I look at my stats to see, ‘Oh I missed that at-bat' or 'I gave this at-bat up,’” Trammell said. “I don't want to do that anymore. Every at-bat counts. Every pitch counts and we see it. These guys started off the game really hot. We all started the game off really hot and we took every pitch to heart. We didn't give up any at-bats."

Seattle has been able to get on this mini-run by playing aggressive baseball, and getting quality starting pitching. On Tuesday night the Mariners went after the Orioles early and often, tallying eight runs in the first three innings.

In these last four games, the Mariners have outscored their opponents 23-3. The high-scoring shutout marks the fifth time this season in 49 games Seattle has scored eight or more runs.

Trammell and Cal Raleigh combined for four hits at the bottom of the order, a pair of RBI sac flies, two runs scored and seven RBIs as Seattle took advantage of right-hander Bryan Baker, who lasted just 1 1/3 innings in his second career start.

Raleigh matched his career high of three RBIs set July 26, 2021, vs. the Astros.

"I think it's important for the bottom of the order to get going,” Raleigh said. “You see the best teams and the teams that win, the bottom of their order is productive as well. We can't be automatic outs down there. I thought I did a good job tonight."

And with this kind of offensive production, the Mariners will not have to worry about rushing back outfielder Jarred Kelenic, who has been hitting at Triple-A Tacoma, slashing .333/.382/1.009. He has 17 hits in 51 at-bats, with three homers and nine RBIs for the Rainiers.

"The reports are very good and they kind of line up with what you’re seeing with the numbers,” Servais said. “Seems like he is on a good roll.”

But just because Kelenic is raking, Servais wants to make sure that the talented youngster continues to get into a nice rhythm with each at-bat, and that his effort level remains high with each opportunity.

Kelenic, 22, struggled to begin the season with the big club, hitting just .140 and striking out 36 times. Servais wants him now to accumulate games and confidence so when he finally gets back with Seattle it’s for good.

“I think the thing with Jarred is everybody gets excited, 'OK, he's had a good couple games, let's bring him right back.’ The next time he comes back to the big leagues, he's not going anywhere. He's going to be here for a while. We want to make sure of that."