Minnesota Twins vs Seattle Mariners Match Player Stats On Jul 20, 2023

George Kirby pitched seven scoreless innings and Teoscar Hernandez drove in two runs, one with a solo homer, as the Seattle Mariners earned a split of their four-game series with the visiting Minnesota Twins with a 5-0 victory Thursday afternoon.

Mike Ford hit a two-run homer in the eighth off the "Hit It Here Cafe" on the second deck in right field and the Mariners added a third run in the inning on a wild pitch to cap the scoring.

It was just the second loss for the Twins in seven games since the All-Star break. The Mariners improved to 3-4 on their 10-game homestand.

Kirby (9-8) scattered four hits against the Twins, who had scored 22 runs over the first three games of the series. The right-hander didn't walk a batter and matched his career high with 10 strikeouts.

The Mariners opened the scoring in the first, loading the bases with no outs off Twins right-hander Pablo Lopez (5-6) on singles by J.P. Crawford and Julio Rodriguez and a walk to Eugenio Suarez. With one out, Hernandez lined a run-scoring single to left field.

Hernandez led off the bottom of the fourth by hitting a 2-2 fastball from Lopez at the top of the strike zone over the fence in straightaway center. It was Hernandez's team-leading 16th homer of the season.

Lopez went five innings, allowing two runs on six hits. He walked two and struck out seven.

Kirby hit Donovan Solano with a pitch with two outs in the first inning, the only baserunner he allowed through the first three frames. The first hit off the All-Star was Matt Wallner's single with two outs in the fourth. The only other hits Kirby allowed were a two-out triple by Kyle Farmer in the fifth, and leadoff singles by Edouard Julien in the sixth and Wallner in the seventh.

The Mariners were without outfielder Jarred Kelenic, who was placed on the 10-day injured list after breaking a bone in his left foot Wednesday night kicking a water cooler after striking out in the ninth inning of a 6-3 defeat. Cade Marlowe was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma to replace Kelenic and went 0-for-3 with a walk in his major league debut.

--Field Level Media