Arozarena and Kirby Shine in the Mariners’ Victory Over the Pirates
Mexican-Cuban outfielder Randy Arozarena hit his 14th home run of the season, while George Kirby pitched a solid performance from the mound, leading the Seattle Mariners to a 1-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. This win completed a sweep with three consecutive shutouts at home.
Arozarena took advantage of a pitch from Carmen Mlodzinski in the sixth inning to send the ball out of the park, adding his sixth home run in the last seven games and providing the only run of the game for Seattle.
Kirby, for his part, had a dominant performance, striking out nine batters, allowing only four hits and not giving up any walks in more than six innings.
Despite a strong opening by Paul Skenes, the Pirates failed to back him up offensively. Skenes, the rookie pitcher, struck out 10 batters and allowed five hits in five innings, with an impressive ERA of 1.94, although his personal record fell to 4-7.
With this loss, the Pirates finished a weekend without scoring runs in Seattle. Previously, Pittsburgh had achieved three consecutive shutouts against the Cardinals, totaling six shutouts in a row, tying a historical record in Major League Baseball.
Mexican Andrés Muñoz secured his 21st save of the season in the ninth inning.
For the Pirates: Dominican Oneil Cruz went 0-for-4.
For the Mariners: Arozarena went 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI; Dominican Jorge Polanco went 1-for-4, and Julio Rodríguez also went 1-for-4.
