Mariners stop the bleeding behind standout outing from Bryan Woo

The Seattle Mariners end season-high five-game losing streak with a hard-fought 3-2 win back at home, against the Athletics.

Following their nightmare nine-game road trip out East to Baltimore, New York and Philadelphia, the Seattle Mariners faced plenty of uncertainty and doubt from outside the organization. They responded positively back in the friendly confines of T-Mobile Park though, winning a much-needed game 3-2 against their divisional rivals the Athletics.

Bryan Woo has been the Mariners’ saviour time and time again this season and he once more came through, to save a team which was on their knees and demoralized after losing seven of eight. He has been the best pitcher in the rotation in 2025 and in truth, it hasn’t really been that close.

Woo leads all M’s starters, with a 3.6 WAR, 2.94 ERA, 128 ERA+ and 0.943 WHIP, but what has been most impressive about him is his endurance and reliability. Following Friday night he extended his modern day Major League record to 25 consecutive starts to begin a season, with 6.0+ innings and two or fewer walks.

The game couldn’t have actually started much worse for Woo, as he allowed a solo home run by Brent Rooker in the top of the first to give the Athletics an early 1-0 lead. That would prove to be the only hit he would concede however, with him giving up just two walks over 7.0 sterling innings while also striking out seven on just 88 pitches.

Bryan Woo the iron man

For some more historical context of what Woo has achieved, he’s the first pitcher to have 25 consecutive starts of 6.0+ innings to open a season since Zack Greinke had 32 back in 2015. In terms of the Mariners’ specifically the righty is now tied second all-time with Randy Johnson behind Félix Hernández, who has the overall franchise record of 27 consecutive starts of 6.0+ innings.

Woo spoke to the media postgame about his mindset heading into Friday night’s crucial game back on home soil. He said:

“I felt it was important to come in and set the tone after such a bad road trip. If you get off to a bad start today, it just kind of leaks a little bit. I just wanted to make sure I came out with good energy and flip the page, and make sure the road trip is over and take advantage of the homestand.”

As you would expect from someone so competitive, Woo demands more from himself as he continues to look for ways to improve. Discussing the early run he gave up but also how he was able to bounce back, he said:

“I’ve got to do a better job of coming out and not just being okay with giving up runs early. I know it’s going to happen, but it’s just a discipline thing I think. But I’ve got to just be able to turn the page and just keep making pitches like I was able to do (tonight).”

Mariners manager Dan Wilson continued to be thoroughly impressed with what his pitching ace has achieved this season. He said:

“Bryan Woo again was just fantastic. The first inning homer (was) really all he gave up and he just did what he does. A lot of soft contact and kept them really quiet for the rest of the ballgame while he was in there. It was just another outstanding effort and going into that seventh inning, it was impressive again. I can’t say enough about what he’s done and how consistent he’s been.”

Mariners overcome early struggles at the plate

Of course no matter how good your starter is pitching, you still need some offense and early on the Mariners lineup was impotent.  Luis Morales was making just his third career start in the Majors for the Athletics and he didn’t allow a single runner on base during the first 4.2 innings.

However. when the M’s finally broke through it was in spectacular fashion as Eugenio Suárez hit a home run to left centre to tie the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the fifth. Suárez has finally begun to heat up since his return to Seattle and with his bomb he became just the sixth player in Major League history to hit 40+ homers with two different teams in a single season.

Morales left the game after 6.0 innings and the Mariners jumped on the opportunity in the bottom of the seventh, with two solo blasts from Josh Naylor and Jorge Polanco to surge ahead 3-1. And the M’s took this advantage into the top of the ninth after Matt Brash and Gabe Speier combined to pitch a shutout eighth inning.

• Mariners back at full strength heading into first road trip of 2026
• George Kirby sees dominant start vs. Yankees come undone in 6th
• Mariners experience 2 positives and 1 negative on a busy Tuesday
• Mike Macdonald,” We are a different team.”
• Nikola Petkovic suffers season ending knee  injury

Some standard late drama for the Mariners

As is often the case with the Seattle Mariners though, they have to make things difficult for themselves and induce anxiety in their fan base. Andrés Muñoz allowed a run to pull the A’s to within 3-2 and then loaded the bases with just one out.

Fortunately for the M’s Muñoz subsequently got out of yet another jam to snag the final two necessary outs and secure the 3-2 win for the home team. This saw him improve to a career-high 30 saves on the season, with is also tied for third-most in the majors.

Wilson was asked about the nervy performance of his main closer during the postgame. He said:

“I thought he threw the ball really well. He gave up some hits, but really made some tough pitches when he had to. … (The A’s) just found some holes, they weren’t hitting the ball particularly hard and I applaud how he continued to pitch and get through it.”

The Mariners have been better at home this season in general, so it stood to reason they would have an excellent chance of ending their five-game losing streak in front of a crowd of 36,958 at T-Mobile Park. At 38-25, they have the best record in the AL West and one of the better home marks in the AL as a whole.

Overall the Mariners improve to 69-60 on the season and remain 2.0 games back of the Houston Astros in the division, but also have a 3.0 game advantage for the third and final AL wild card spot. George Kirby gets the ball on Saturday night, as he looks to bounce back from his terrible outing in the MLB Little League Classic last Sunday.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rodgers Photography

Pending the Mariners making the playoffs, would you pick Woo as your Game One starter? If not, who would you choose and why? Let us know in the comments section below.