Mariners vs. Rays: Raleigh rocks, Kirby continues his scorching month, Garver goes long twice

Best Pitcher: George Kirby

6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K

Kirby is having his best month of 2024 by far. Over the course of four starts, he pitched 25 innings to an ERA of 1.80 and a 0.88 WHIP. He struck out 26.5% of opposing batters while walking them just 2.6% of the time, numbers we have come to expect from him. His start in the final game of the series saw him collect 13 whiffs and 11 called strikes. Six of his whiffs were on his four-seam fastball and six of his called strikes were on his sinker. Although this clip was from the previous series against the Marlins, the video beautifully illustrates why his tunneling makes both pitches lethal.

Once you add his splitter, a pitch with a batting average against of .100, you get one of the best pitching talents in the American League.

Honorable Mention: Trent Thornton

2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

One of the more underrated arms in the Seattle bullpen, Thornton is a reliable pitcher who's currently second in ERA among qualified relievers behind only Andrés Muñoz. His current mark of 3.31 could be even lower as his xERA of 3.13 and his FIP of 2.87 potentially indicate, but all in all, he's gotten it done when asked of him.