Even though there are some of the customary black clouds around, how do you deal with a loss that has so many bright spots?

I don’t know how to feel about the 2024 Seattle Mariners.

I don’t know how to feel about today’s loss to the Twins, where they scored three runs to Minnesota’s six.

Before the Twins series, Seattle had won six series in a row. This four game set is only their second of the season with the first being a home series split against Boston, and even though they are now down 2-1 in the series, they can always rally behind LoGi on the mound tomorrow and split this series too.

After all, I’m sure nobody could have easily expected last night’s rollercoaster.

But some things, you generally can expect. Like with George Kirby. Usually, you know you’re getting a guy on the mound who can absolutely paint. If he wants to put a pitch in the strike zone he can and will, amounting to historically low walk rate levels of reliability. He only walked one batter today!

That one walk was against José Miranda in the bottom of the fourth, and you know what I just said about him being a reliable strike thrower? Well, may I present the exception to the rule.

Of course, being able to land pitches in the strike zone, or put it anywhere a pitcher wants it to at whim, doesn’t always amount to a ton of strikeouts. It can, like when Kirby recently struck out twelve Diamondbacks two starts ago. Or it can be more like his last start against Houston, where he only gave up one earned and lasted six, but only struck out three, relying on good old fashioned contact.

Today he didn’t land on the strikeout heavy end of the equation, only striking out four in five innings of work, two looking and two swinging.

And, he mostly managed contact well, only racking up four hits in those five innings. Those four hits, matched with four earned runs. There are those pesky exceptions traveling all over the rules