With Deadline rumors swirling, Kirby deals 7 strong in Mariners' walk-off win

SEATTLE -- George Kirby went through one hug after another in the home dugout at T-Mobile Park on Sunday.

But no, this was not a hug-watch situation leading into Monday’s 3 p.m. PT Trade Deadline.

These were embraces of joy -- and probably of exhale -- as Kirby had just turned in his best start of the season. And it came in the aftermath of the club trading Luis Castillo to the White Sox while his own name has surfaced more prominently ahead of a Deadline that is less than 24 hours away.

"With everything going on, just trying to go out there and do my best,” Kirby said. “So it was a little bit of motivation, I guess. But yeah, I love this place. I want to stay here. I want to show them that I'm worthy of it."

Kirby carved his way through seven scoreless innings, but calamity ensued after he departed before the Mariners were able to rally in a 7-6 walk-off win over the Twins.

Eduard Bazardo and José A. Ferrer each surrendered a big homer in the eighth inning that trimmed Seattle’s 6-0 lead to 6-5. Then, Andrés Muñoz gave up another shot to his first batter in the ninth that tied the game, one day after he recorded four outs for the first time this year.

Colt Emerson then came through in the bottom of the ninth with his first career walk-off hit, yanking a 104.8 mph single past the first baseman while Minnesota played with five infielders, with runners on second and third base and one out.

That scored Stuart Fairchild, who was pinch-running for Josh Naylor after he was forced to exit upon taking an awkward -- and hard -- tumble going from first to third on a base hit from Victor Robles. Naylor had deked center fielder Luke Keaschall on the play, which allowed both runners to advance an extra base.

Naylor was OK postgame, Mariners manager Dan Wilson said, adding that they intended to pinch-run for him anyway.

“That’s just ‘headsy’ baseball -- and that's Josh Naylor,” Wilson said.

The Mariners needed everything they could get to clinch their first series win in two weeks.

Kirby was buoyed by a three-hit day from Cole Young, as the youngster’s second-half heater continued, and promising signs from two sluggers that the Mariners have badly hoped will heat up.

That’d be Naylor (who punched an opposite-field, two-run double in the first inning) and Cal Raleigh (who crushed a three-run homer in the seventh).

Now, with the club idle on Monday, all eyes turn to the Deadline.

The expectation is that the Mariners have at least one more move in them, if not more. They’ve been actively seeking a right-handed bat and bullpen help, the latter of which they addressed by acquiring Seranthony Domínguez in the Castillo deal.

The belief had long been that the Mariners would move one starter but not multiple, and Castillo had always been the preference, sources have said. They’d also been entertaining offers on Emerson Hancock.

But the club had been more aggressively engaged on Kirby in recent days, as MLB.com reported on Saturday -- before the Castillo trade. And he said on Sunday that he’s been aware of it all.

“I'd be lying if I said no,” Kirby said. “I don't have Twitter, so I'm not seeing anything. But you always hear stuff, whether it's from my agent or just people, anybody. So I do my best to try and not worry about that. But yeah, it's something deep in your mind you worry about a little bit.”

Even after trading Castillo, the Mariners will continue to listen to offers on the rest of their rotation, a source said, but that doesn’t mean they will move another arm. This front office is as active as any in gauging the market and doing due diligence.

Kirby carries a 3.76 ERA over 127 innings across 21 starts, over which the Mariners have gone 11-10. He’s thrown a quality start in seven of his past eight outings, the lone exception being a seven-run clunker on Monday in Arlington.

For as tough as July was, the Mariners (55-58) remain within striking distance of first place in the weak American League West, just three games back.

“At the end of the day, we're just trying to win ballgames and keep stacking wins,” Kirby said. “So the more we do that, the less noise there is.”