Mariners offense falls silent again in 6-1 loss to Nationals

WASHINGTON — During the first three innings, George Kirby was lively, efficient and perfect. Nine batters came to the plate and nine batters were put out on just 24 pitches. He threw nine pitches to first, eight to second and seven to third.

Was something special building for him and the Mariners Friday night at Nationals Park?

Not enough.

On a night where he should have been close to perfect to give his team a chance to win, thanks to another dismal performance from the offense, Kirby’s outing collapsed in the fourth inning and the Mariners n Were unable to recover in a 6. -1 loss against the Nationals.

Kirby gave up a three-run homer to Luis Garcia in the fourth inning to put the Mariners behind and allowed a two-run homer to Keibert Ruiz in the sixth inning, making a rally impossible.

Meanwhile, the Mariners hitters were busy being blocked by young Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore.

The former top pitcher allowed one run on four hits in seven innings to earn the victory.

The Mariners, as a team, only had five hits on the night. Their only run came on Gore’s second pitch of the game. Leadoff hitter JP Crawford hammered a solo home run to left center to give Seattle a 1-0 lead. The Mariners never really threatened to score again.

This story will be updated