The Seattle Mariners have the best rotation in Major League Baseball, but that wasn’t the case on Tuesday.
Right-hander George Kirby allowed 11 runs on 13 hits in just 3.2 innings to the Detroit Tigers. It was the most runs allowed in a single game by a starting pitcher this season, according to Sportsnet Stats.
Kirby, who entered play with a respectable 3.13 ERA, held the Tigers to just one run through the first two innings of the game, but things began to unravel in the third. It started with a solo home run by Kerry Carpenter before an RBI single from Bligh Madris and a two-run double from Jake Rogers.
Then the floodgates really opened in the fourth, when the Tigers scored six times including another home run from Carpenter and a grand slam by Rogers.
Despite all the damage, Kirby did manage five strikeouts and allowed only one walk.
According to Tigers PR, the game marked the first time since July 8, 2014 against the Dodgers that Detroit had scored 11 runs in the first four innings of a game.
Kirby also faced Detroit in his last start on Aug. 7. In that game, he allowed three runs over five innings in a 6-2 win for the Tigers.
The Mariners rotation, which also features Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo, leads the majors with a team ERA of 3.24 entering play Tuesday.
