George Kirby Injury: Set for season debut Thursday

Mariners manager Dan Wilson said Wednesday that Kirby (shoulder) will be activated from the 15-day injured list to start Thursday's game in Houston, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times reports.

Kirby's third and final rehab start wasn't great from a results perspective, as he allowed four runs on 10 hits over four innings of work at Triple-A Tacoma last Friday. However, he got his fastball velocity up to 97.5 miles per hour in the outing, and the Mariners are convinced the right-hander is ready to face big-league hitters. Kirby threw 64 pitches in his final rehab outing, so he will be working with a relatively limited workload Thursday. He's been out all season while recovering from right shoulder inflammation.