George Kirby, Teoscar Hernandez helped M’s earnings be shared among the Twins

July 20, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby (68) threw out a pitch during the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at T-Mobile Park. Image: Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports

George Kirby bowled seven scoreless innings and Teoscar Hernandez cruised in two runs, one with a solo homer, as the Seattle Mariners earned a share of their four-game series with the visiting Minnesota Twins with a 5-0 win Thursday afternoon.

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Mike Ford hit two homers in the eighth round of “Hit It Here Cafe” on the second deck in right field and the Mariners added a third in the inning in wild field to close the score.

It was only the Twins’ second loss in seven games since the All-Star break. The Mariners improved to 3-4 in their 10 homestands

Kirby (9-8) spread four hits against the Twins, who had scored 22 points over the first three games of the series. The left-hander didn’t hit hard and matched his career with 10 strikeouts

The Mariners opened the scoring in the first half, loading on no-out bases from Twins right-hander Pablo Lopez (5-6) on singles by JP Crawford and Julio Rodriguez and walking to Eugenio Suarez. With one out, Hernandez scored one run-scoring left field

Hernandez took the lead from the bottom of the fourth quarter by hitting a 2-2 fastball from Lopez at the top of the strike zone over the fence in the middle of the straight. It was Hernandez’s team-leading 16th homer of the season.

Lopez pitched five innings, allowed two runs on six hits. He walked two and attacked seven.

Kirby hit Donovan Solano on a pitch with two outs in the first inning, the only baserunner he allowed past the first three frames. The first hit from the All-Star was a Matt Wallner single with two outs in the fourth. The only other hits Kirby was allowed were triple twos from Kyle Farmer in fifth, and leadoff singles by Edouard Julien in sixth and Wallner in seventh.

The Mariners are without outfielder Jarred Kelenic, who was placed on the injured list 10 days after fracturing a bone in his left foot Wednesday night kicking a water cooler after striking out in the ninth inning of a 6-3 loss. Cade Marlowe was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma to replace Kelenic and went 0-for-3 with walks in his major league debut

–Field Level Media