George Kirby strikes out a career-high 12 as the Mariners beat the Diamondbacks 3-1

SEATTLE (AP) — George Kirby struck out a career-high 12 batters in seven scoreless innings, Ty France hit a two-run homer and the Seattle Mariners beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-1 on Saturday night.

Kirby (3-2) gave up two hits, recorded eight of his first nine outs via strikeout and retired his final 14 batters. He ran into his only bit of trouble in the third, giving up a one-out double to Blaze Alexander and a walk to Jake McCarthy before striking out Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Ketel Marte.

Kirby hit 99.3 mph with his fastball and induced 23 swings and misses.

“Wow, George Kirby,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “Tough to get a hit tonight on both sides, but our guy was fantastic. Can't say enough from where he came out in the first inning, probably as good a stuff as we've seen him have all year.”

Kirby extended his scoreless streak to 14 innings.

“You kind of know from the beginning," he said. “You start warming up and you're like, OK, it's going to be a good day. Feel good, and just got to execute. I did my job today.”

The AL West-leading Mariners have won three straight and nine of 11, and have won four consecutive series.

Seattle’s starting pitchers have allowed two or fewer earned runs in 15 consecutive starts, a franchise record.

Arizona starter Slade Cecconi (1-1) kept pace with Kirby early, striking out seven and allowing one hit over the first four innings. He gave up a run in the fifth on Luke Raley's RBI single.

Cecconi struck out eight while allowing three hits over six innings.

Reliever Bryce Jarvis walked Jorge Polanco in the seventh before France took him deep with a 410-foot shot to right-center.

“Our pitching staff is elite, one of the best in the game,” France said. “Honestly all it takes some nights is just one run.”

McCarthy had an RBI triple in the eighth for the Diamondbacks, who have lost four of five.

“It's pretty frustrating,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “We knew full well it was going to be hard when we came in here. This is a quality pitching staff and we've just got to be better. We've got to find a way to get it done, it's not going to fix itself.”

Andrés Muñoz pitched the ninth for his fourth save.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Diamondbacks: RHP Zac Gallen (right hamstring tightness) felt better on Saturday after leaving in the top of the sixth inning Friday. Gallen is expected to throw a bullpen on Monday and make his next scheduled start. ... RHP Paul Sewald (oblique) will have his rehab slowed down due to soreness but is still “very close” to a return, Lovullo said.

Mariners: RHP Matt Brash (elbow) has been shut down indefinitely. Brash threw Friday and did not feel good afterward. His scheduled rehab appearance on Saturday at Triple-A Tacoma was scrapped. ... RHP Bryan Woo (elbow) allowed two hits and struck out six batters in 3 1/3 innings in his second rehab start at Tacoma.

UP NEXT

Mariners right-hander Logan Gilbert (2-0, 1.87 ERA) will pitch Sunday against Diamondbacks righty Brandon Pfaadt (1-1, 4.97).

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Seattle Mariners' Julio Rodríguez, right, reacts after Ty France, left, hit a two-run home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the seventh inning of a baseball game Saturday, April 27, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Andrés Muñoz throws to an Arizona Diamondbacks batter during the ninth inning of a baseball game Saturday, April 27, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Andrés Muñoz (75), catcher Cal Raleight, left, and teammates celebrate a 3-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in a baseball game Saturday, April 27, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners' Mitch Garver reacts after hitting a double against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, April 27, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Slade Cecconi points to center fielder Corbin Carroll after Carroll caught a long fly ball hit by Seattle Mariners' Josh Rojas during the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, April 27, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners' Mitch Garver is greeted in the dugout after scoring on an RBI single by Luke Raley against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, April 27, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners' Josh Rojas reacts after grounding out against the Arizona Diamondbacks to end the third inning of a baseball game Saturday, April 27, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the second inning of a baseball game Saturday, April 27, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby reacts after striking out Arizona Diamondbacks' Eugenio Suárez to end the top of the seventh inning of a baseball game Saturday, April 27, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Chris Kreider had a third-period hat trick to help the New York Rangers erase a two-goal deficit and beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 in Game 6 on Thursday night to advance to the Eastern Conference Final.

Kreider single-handedly erased the Hurricanes' 3-1 lead entering the final period. The go-ahead score came when he got position on Jalen Chatfield at the top of the crease and tipped in Ryan Lindgren's pass to make it 4-3 with at the 15:41 mark.

That finally allowed the Presidents' Trophy-winning Rangers to put away the Hurricanes, who had won two straight after falling into a 3-0 hole in the best-of-7 series. The Hurricanes appeared on the verge of forcing a Game 7 for a pressure-packed finale, but couldn't contain Kreider and the Rangers' surge in the final 14 minutes.

Barclay Goodrow finished this one off by getting to a loose puck near the boards and scoring a long empty-net goal in the final minute, sending Goodrow to the nearby Rangers bench to be mobbed by teammates.

That sent the Rangers on to the Eastern Conference Final to face the Boston-Florida winner, with the Panthers leading that series 3-2.

Kreider’s first goal came when he cleaned up a stop by Frederik Andersen on Mika Zibanejad at the 6:43 mark to make it 3-2. He followed by tipping in a shot by Artemi Panarin to tie it at the 11:54 mark.

Igor Shesterkin hung in after a pressured first two periods, finishing with 33 saves and coming up with a big stop on Jordan Staal near the crease and another tying chance from Andrei Svechnikov off a faceoff win in the third period.

Vincent Trocheck also scored off a deflection in the second period for New York.

Martin Necas, Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho scored for Carolina, while Andersen finished with 19 saves.

The Hurricanes also missed on multiple late chances to increase their lead, with Jordan Martinook — who had a highlight-reel sliding effort to knock away a loose puck from the goal line midway through the second period — and Jake Guentzel each pinging the metal past Shesterkin to come up empty.

There was also a big opportunity in the third when two Rangers collided and fell to the ice in their own end, leaving top Carolina center Sebastian Aho with a 1-on-1 chance on Shesterkin. But as Aho skated in from the left circle, he went wide right of the net as he tried to move to his backhand.

Those missed chances added up to a brutal exit for the Hurricanes, a team that was in the playoffs for the sixth time in as many seasons under Rod Brind'Amour and has been open about the goal of breaking through to win the Stanley Cup.

Carolina finished three points behind the Rangers for the Presidents’ Trophy awarded to the top team in the regular-season standings, and entered the NHL playoffs as the favorite to win the Stanley Cup, according to Bet MGM Sportsbook. But the Rangers won the first three games by one-goal margins — two coming in overtime — to threaten an unexpectedly quick resolution.

Carolina successfully beat back their power-play struggles for the Game 4 winner to stay alive, then rallied from a 1-0 deficit with four straight third-period goals to win Game 5 in Madison Square Garden and bring the series back to Raleigh.

But days later, the Rangers returned the favor with four straight of their own in the third, leaving a boisterous Hurricanes crowd in stunned disbelief.

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Carolina Hurricanes' Sebastian Aho (20) celebrates his goal, next to New York Rangers' Jimmy Vesey (26) during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

Carolina Hurricanes' Sebastian Aho (20) celebrates his goal against the New York Rangers during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

New York Rangers' Vincent Trocheck (16) controls the puck in front of Carolina Hurricanes' Jaccob Slavin during the first period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

New York Rangers' Barclay Goodrow (21) moves the puck around Carolina Hurricanes' Dmitry Orlov (7) during the first period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

New York Rangers' Jonny Brodzinski (22) moves the puck around Carolina Hurricanes' Tony DeAngelo (77) during the first period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

Carolina Hurricanes' Brady Skjei (76) protects the puck from New York Rangers' Barclay Goodrow (21) during the first period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

New York Rangers' Ryan Lindgren (55) lands on top of Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

Carolina Hurricanes' Martin Necas (88) shoots against New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin (31) during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin (31) blocks a Carolina Hurricanes shot during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

Carolina Hurricanes' Frederik Andersen (31) blocks the shot of New York Rangers' Mika Zibanejad, right rear, as Chris Kreider (20) waits for a rebound with Hurricanes' Seth Jarvis (24) nearby during the first period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

New York Rangers' Mika Zibanejad, back right, and Vincent Trocheck (16) celebrate a goal by Chris Kreider on Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen during the third period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

New York Rangers' Chris Kreider, second from right, celebrates his goal against the Carolina Hurricanes with teammates during the third period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, May 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)