Rookie George Kirby pitched six strong innings as the Seattle Mariners defeated visiting Atlanta 3-1 in an interleague game Saturday night, snapping the Braves’ eight-game winning streak.
Sam Haggerty and Eugenio Suarez homered off Atlanta starter Max Fried (13-6).
The Braves (87-52) dropped into second place in the National League East, a half-game behind the New York Mets, after spending their first day of the season atop the division following a 6-4 victory in the series opener Friday.
Kirby (7-3), who was named the American League’s pitcher of the month after going 4-0 with a 2.15 ERA in five starts in August, allowed one unearned run on three hits. The right-hander didn’t walk a batter and struck out six.
Paul Sewald pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, striking out the final two Atlanta batters, for his 19th save.
Haggerty lined the first pitch in the bottom of the fifth inning over the left-field wall to break a scoreless tie.
Suarez hit his team-leading 28th homer with two outs in the sixth, also on the first pitch of the at-bat.
Fried, a left-hander, went six innings and gave up two runs on five hits. Like Kirby, he didn’t walk a batter and fanned six.
The Braves’ lone run off Kirby scored after he departed.
Trailing 2-0, Atlanta’s Dansby Swanson led off the seventh with a single to center. Austin Riley then reached on shortstop J.P. Crawford’s error, with Swanson taking third.
The Mariners (78-61) brought in Andres Munoz to replace Kirby and Matt Olson grounded out to second to score Swanson. Munoz then got Travis d’Arnaud to hit a tapper in front of the plate and struck out Michael Harris II to end the threat.
The Mariners got the run back in the bottom of the seventh. With two outs, pinch hitter Adam Frazier walked on a 3-2 pitch from reliever Jesse Chavez, and rookie Julio Rodriguez followed with an RBI double to center.
Kirby gave up a one-out single to Swanson in the first, then got Riley to ground into a double play on the next pitch.
The only other hit Kirby allowed through the first six innings was a leadoff single by Vaughn Grissom in the third. Grissom stole second but was stranded there.
–Field Level Media