SEATTLE – After getting called up from the Double-A Arkansas Travelers on Saturday, Elon University baseball alumni George Kirby made his major league debut for the Seattle Mariners on Sunday, May 8 against the Tampa Bay Rays.

"Couldn't have been a better day," Kirby said post game. On controlling his emotions in his debut, he went on to say, "I just had to go out there and trust my stuff and do what I've been doing all year. It ended up being a great day. You know I didn't get ahead a lot, but I came back and did my job. I trusted my stuff, tried to use all of my pitches and just have it be a toss-up for the hitters."
 
In front of a crowd of 32,501 at T-Mobile Park, the Rye, N.Y. native threw six shutout innings as he limited the defending American League East Division champions to four hits. He did not issue a walk and finished with seven strikeouts for his pro debut. Kirby becomes the first pitcher in franchise history to toss 6.0+ scoreless innings in his MLB debut and is also tied for second in Mariners history for the most strikeouts in an MLB debut.
 
"I really wasn't expecting it," Mariners manager Scott Servais said of Kirby's performance. "I didn't know what we were going to get from a rookie in his first time out there, but I could not have asked for more. So I'm really excited for him and having him part of our rotation moving forward."

Kirby quickly impressed as he struck out three Rays batters in the top of the first. He retired eight batters in a row, including retiring the side in the third and fourth innings. He would leave the game with no score as he received a no decision, but the Mariners would go on to win 2-1 in the 10th inning on a walk-off hit to left. Kirby threw 55-of-81 (67.9 percent) pitches for strikes in the outing and the effort helped Seattle snap a six-game losing streak.

"To be honest I felt kind of calm out there," continued Kirby, "but the nerves are running through pretty good. I did get the ball back and my parents will get it for sure. All of my best friends and family, it couldn't have been a better day to have them here. They promised to be here for my debut and they kept that promise."
 
The 2019 CAA Pitcher of the Year, Kirby became the highest-drafted player in program history when the Mariners selected him with the 20th overall pick in the first round of the 2019 MLB Draft. He finished the regular season that year as the national leader in strikeout-to-walk ratio (16.8). A five-time All-American, he posted a 19-8 record, a 3.34 ERA and recorded 258 strikeouts through 240 innings in his three seasons wearing the maroon and gold.