Mariners pitcher says he wanted to be pulled after 6 innings: ‘Didn’t think I really could go anymore’

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The Seattle Mariners fell to the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night, 7-4, after the Rays scored four runs in the seventh inning.

The first two Rays runs in that inning came on a home run by René Pinto off Mariners starter George Kirby that tied the game at 4.

Hindsight may be 20/20, but after the game, Kirby admitted to reporters that he wanted to be taken out after his sixth inning.

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George Kirby of the Seattle Mariners throws a pitch during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on September 8, 2023, in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)

But it wasn't necessarily because he allowed the home run. In fact, he thought he felt he'd reached his limit.

"I wish I wasn't out there for the seventh [inning], to be honest," Kirby said after the game. "I was at 90 pitches. And I didn't think I really could go anymore. But it is what it is."

Through six innings, Kirby was at 93 pitches. He served up the two-run shot on his 102nd and final pitch of the night, one shy of his season high.

Kirby has hit the 100-pitch mark five times this season and averages about 92 pitches per start.

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby reacts after allowing a two-run home run in the seventh inning, September 8, 2023, in St. Petersburg, Florida. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

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The right-hander's comments received quite the backlash on social media, and the All-Star realized his mistake.

On Saturday, he told reporters he apologized to his manager, Scott Servais,