Seattle Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby got the start on Wednesday against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, the place that one of the greatest knuckleball pitchers, Tim Wakefield, called home for the majority of his career. Wakefield passed away due to brain cancer last fall, and Kirby made an awesome gesture, throwing a knuckleball on the first pitch of the game in honor of the legendary knuckleballer.
“He was a special player. So just being able to do it here in Boston was pretty cool,” George Kirby said, according to MLB on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Kirby's pitch ended up being high for a ball to Red Sox leadoff hitter Jarren Duran. Still, it was a classy move from one of the better young starting pitchers in the game. Jarren Duran ended up flying out to left fielder Randy Arozarena to start the game. Although, the Red Sox did score in the inning. After Wilyer Abreu lined out for the second out of the inning, Masataka Yoshida walked and then scored on Rafael Devers' double.
Despite that, Kirby did pitch well, going 5.1 innings and giving up two runs. It just was not enough for the Mariners to win, as Boston came away with a 3-2 win in 10 innings on another Rafael Devers RBI double.
The Mariners fell to 57-53 overall, and they ended Wednesday tied with the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West. Seattle will head back home on Friday to take on the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Red Sox moved to 57-50 overall, which has them seven games out in the American League East and two games out of the final Wild Card spot. It has been a bit of a struggle since the All-Star break for Boston, as it has seen the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees distance themselves a bit in the division. The hope is that this series win against Seattle stops the slide. The Wild Card race is where most of the attention is on now as the Red Sox head to Texas to take on the Rangers on Friday.
Tim Wakefield's lasting legacy
Tim Wakefield came into MLB with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1992, and pitched with them in 1993 as well, according to Baseball Reference. He did not play in 1994, but he made his way to the Red Sox in 1995, which started a 17-year stint with the franchise in which he was a member of the 2004 and 2007 World Series championship teams. Over that time, he built up the reputation of being one of the best knuckleball pitchers of all time. He pitched until he was 44 years old and even made the All-Star game at age 42 in 2009.
It was a big loss for baseball when Wakefield passed away on Oct. 1, 2023 at 57 years old. He was a staple of many Red Sox teams that were some of the best in baseball.
Follow Us
Subscribe
