Kirby’s stellar debut in Seattle a Mother’s Day gift

Kirby, a 24-year-old righty out of Elon University, struck out three of the four Rays batters he faced in the first inning, which gave the Seattle crowd something to cheer about in the midst of what had been a bleak stretch of six straight losses and 10 in 11 games, overall.

Those cheers continued to grow louder as Kirby dominated throughout his six innings, holding the Rays scoreless while racking up seven strikeouts against four hits and no walks on 81 pitches. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound hurler exited the game with the teams locked in a 0-0 tie.

“It’s awesome,” Kirby said of hearing the 32,501 fans cheering him on from the stands. “Thursday, they told me [of the callup], and since then, I’ve been on cloud nine.

“Nerves were flying, and it was just great to see all the fans out there. It was a beautiful day and you couldn’t ask for a better outcome.”