Seattle Mariners star pitcher George Kirby delivered a gem in his team’s most important game of the season so far.

Facing the prospect of being left 2.5 games behind the Houston Astros for the last Wild Card spot, Kirby tossed six scoreless innings in front of his fans, with just one walk and four strikeouts.

The performance paved the way for the Mariners’ victory, and they are now just 0.5 games back for a spot in the postseason.

The night, however, almost ended in disaster for the young Mariners righty.

“It was literally a Mariners fan. Threw the ball back on field and hit George Kirby. Never seen that at a baseball game,” Mariners podcaster Sami On Tap tweeted, with a video of the incident.

It was literally a Mariners fan.

Threw the ball back on field and hit George Kirby.

Never seen that at a baseball game. pic.twitter.com/i3XsNJviRX

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— Sami ON Tap (@SamiOnTap) September 27, 2023

Kirby was facing Kyle Tucker.

When he was getting ready to pitch, a fan threw a ball back to the diamond and hit Kirby in the chest area.

It was a scary moment that thankfully didn’t involve any regretful injuries.

It’s unclear if the fan threw the ball there with the purpose of hitting Kirby, but he did and he could have caused a severe injury had the impact been on his elbow, shoulder, or head.

The Mariners can’t afford to lose Kirby to injury.

He made his last start of the regular season but will be a key component of the M’s rotation if the team advances.

He has had a phenomenal season, with a 3.46 ERA in 30 starts and 184.2 innings.

With just 19 walks and 165 strikeouts, he is one of the league leaders in SO/BB (strikeouts per walk).

Seattle needs him to succeed, now and in the future.

The post The Mariners Avoided Disaster Tuesday Night Via A Fan appeared first on The Cold Wire.

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There hasn’t been an official announcement.

Yet, everybody in baseball, not just the Cleveland Guardians, knows it at this point: manager Terry Francona will retire after the season ends.

We all know it because all the signs are there.

One of the most evident signs is the fact the Guardians are going to be handing out “Thank you, Tito” shirts for Wednesday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, his last at home.

Francona joked about it when asked by the media about his retirement plans.

“Terry Francona said that despite the fact that neither he nor the Guardians have officially announced his retirement, he did address the players today to tell them it has been an ‘honor of the lifetime’ to manage them through good and bad,” MLB insider Chelsea Janes tweeted.

There you have another sign: he is already saying goodbye to his beloved players.

Now, about those T-shirts…

“On if tomorrow is his last home game ‘it has to be,’ Francona joked. ‘Once you give out t-shirts you can’t go back,’” Janes wrote.

On if tomorrow is his last home game “it has to be,” Francona joked. “Once you give out t-shirts you can’t go back.” https://t.co/q65QzFliOJ

— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) September 26, 2023

Tito has a great point there.

Can you imagine giving out farewell T-shirts only for him to return for one more year?

It doesn’t make sense.

It would be incredibly good, but it doesn’t make sense.

Instead, Francona will be putting an end to a brilliant career as a baseball manager that started in 1997 with the Philadelphia Phillies and ends here, 26 years later, in Cleveland.

One of the most respected and talented skippers in today’s game gets to say goodbye in front of his home fans.

It’s a perfect way to end a beautiful, successful chapter of his life.

The post Terry Francona Shares Hilarious Take On His Farewell Game appeared first on The Cold Wire.

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Historically, the New York Yankees, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Boston Red Sox have had long periods of dominance in MLB.

In fact, those are the teams with the most World Series victories.

The Yanks have 27 (the last one coming in 2009), the Cardinals are second with 11 (the most recent one being in 2011), and the Red Sox are tied with the Oakland Athletics (previously Philadelphia and Kansas City Athletics) with nine.

Since 1993 and up until 2022, a span covering 30 seasons, at least one of those teams was in the playoffs, often all three and sometimes two of them.

However, all good things (and bad, too) come to an end.

2023 will be the first season in 30 years in which none of those three historically relevant franchises will be in the postseason, according to ESPN.

For the first time in 30 years, the MLB postseason will not include the Yankees, Red Sox or Cardinals pic.twitter.com/yXEKYCFHV5

— ESPN (@espn) September 27, 2023

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The Yankees are the only team of the bunch with a positive record, but things went south almost from the beginning.

Aaron Judge had two long stints on the injured list, Giancarlo Stanton regressed, and Carlos Rodon was either injured or inconsistent, not to mention a myriad of injuries to starters, relievers, and lineup regulars.

The Red Sox made huge strides with their farm system, but even though they stayed relevant and competitive for most of the year, couldn’t get key wins and all their AL East foes are just better.

The Cardinals’ pitching was never good enough for the team to contend.

With demanding fanbases and a sense of urgency, all three teams will likely find a way to contend soon enough.

For now, though, they will have to watch the postseason on TV.

The post MLB Postseason Is Featuring A Rare Absence In 2023 appeared first on The Cold Wire.

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