A heart-stopping moment went down at T-Mobile Park on Tuesday night when a Baltimore Orioles line drive turned a routine fifth inning into a scene no baseball fan wants to see. With two outs, Orioles third baseman Ramón Urías crushed a 102.7 mph comebacker off Mariners ace George Kirby, the ball ricocheting off his thumb and smacking him square in the face before bouncing to first baseman Rowdy Tellez for the final out. As Kirby walked off the field, blood streaming from his lip, the Seattle crowd held its breath. Miraculously, the 2023 All-Star didn’t go down, shrugging off the hit like a prizefighter and insisting he’s fine, but it was a scary reminder of how quickly things can turn in this game.
Kirby, ever the tough guy, downplayed the incident after Seattle’s 5-1 loss to the Orioles. “I didn’t even see it coming, just put my hand up,” he said, per MLB.com. “It didn’t even hurt, honestly. It got my hand—like 50/50, hand/mouth, but we’re good.” That his hand absorbed most of the blow might’ve saved him from something far worse, and he’s not expected to miss time. Still, the Mariners aren’t taking chances, sending Kirby for tests to rule out any hidden damage. Manager Dan Wilson summed up the relief in the dugout, saying, “You just don’t know how those things go with all that adrenaline. It could’ve been way worse”. For a pitcher who’s already battled shoulder inflammation this season, delaying his 2025 debut until late May, this was a close call nobody needed.
This isn’t the George Kirby who dominated in 2023. The right-hander has had a rough go in 2025, giving up 13 runs over 13.2 innings since returning from injury. But Tuesday’s start—before the line drive cut it short—was his best yet, showing flashes of the ace who can shut down lineups. Listed as day-to-day, Kirby’s toughness and optimism are keeping spirits high in Seattle, but the tests will tell the full story. For now, Mariners fans are just grateful their star pitcher walked off the field, bloodied but unbowed, after a moment that could’ve changed everything.
