By Paul L. Taylor Posted on

Mariners beat Astros but anxiously await Bryan Woo injury update

The Mariners got that vital first win by beating the Astros 4-0 in the opener, but the outcome of Bryan Woo’s MRI will be a defining moment.

At times during the nearly 50 years of the Seattle Mariners’ existence, it almost seems like they’re just not allowed to have nice things – that even when everything seems to be going right, something still goes wrong. It was tough to escape these thoughts at the conclusion of Friday night’s series opener in Houston versus the Astros.

The Mariners had just completed one of their most important wins of the season and arguably in years, by beating the Astros 4-0 and taking a vital one-game lead at the top of the AL West. Combined with the Tigers losing, the M’s had the precious second seed in the AL and the potential first round bye with eight games remaining.

Bryan Woo on fire prior to early exit

However, at the forefront of many peoples’ thoughts was Bryan Woo’s premature exit from his start due to injury. For Mariners fans this must have led to a sick feeling in the pit of their stomach, given just how much the righty has meant this season as the best, most consistent and durable pitcher in the rotation.

Woo was absolutely stellar through five innings, with one of his best outings of the season and when it mattered the most. He allowed just one hit, a walk and no earned runs on 67 pitches, while also striking out seven.

The 2025 All-Star was aggressive from the word go and consistently getting ahead in the count, with 12 first-pitch strikes versus the 17 batters he faced. He was in a zone, but then — just like that — his night was over.

It turns out that Woo felt something right at the end of the fifth inning, which led to Eduard Bazardo warming up in the bullpen. The Mariners’ ace tried to warm-up himself prior to the sixth, but left the mound and the game after a chat with manager Dan Wilson and head athletic trainer Kyle Torgerson.

Mariners have to just wait and see

Postgame, Wilson was asked about what happened to Woo and what injury he had sustained. He said:

“He just had a little pec tightness and kind of gave us a heads-up, which is why Bazardo was getting loose. We’ll know more tomorrow, likely an MRI … but that’s all we know at this time.”

Wilson was then asked about the level of concern with Woo. He said:

“I think obviously concerned in some ways, but I think in other ways Bryan is a tough cookie and I think it was smart he let us know and there was no reason to push it, so I think we’ll just find out more tomorrow. There’s just too many unknowns at this point.”

Woo himself was unable to offer much insight, when asked about the injury. He said:

“Yeah I just felt a little tightness. I tried to come out and throw in the sixth, but I didn’t feel like it was best for the team. Bazz was ready to go and we’ll get some stuff done tomorrow and then we’ll know more. I really don’t know much so far.”

In theory you could assume the situation with Woo isn’t that serious, otherwise the Mariners wouldn’t have allowed him to come out and speak to the media. However, we accept this is just that — a theory — and there’s no way of knowing for sure until a further update is announced by the team.

Highlighting the importance of Bryan Woo to the Mariners

Part of what makes Woo so good is that he’s always trying to find ways to improve and develop his game, with his changeup an example of the rewards of hard work and perseverance. He said:

“It’s been great. The changeup is such a tough pitch to get consistency out of. I played with a couple of grips throughout the year. It’s such a hard pitch unless it’s a speciality of yours and you just have a feel for it, it’s a tough pitch to develop. So you’ve got to just keep throwing it, you’ve got to keep challenging yourself with locating it and getting it to kind of the shape you want it, so it fits your arsenal.”

This proved to be another prime example of a total team win, with everyone doing their bit on the night. The bullpen was tremendous in pitching four shutout-innings after Woo left, four players had solo home runs, and the defense was excellent for the most part.

A crucial win but one more needed against the Astros

Wilson was asked how important it was to get the first game in this crucial series against the Astros. He said:

“All these games are extremely important. You’ve got a chance to tie it down and we’re going to take it. That’s how we felt out there in the ninth, and Munoz came out and did the job.”

Woo was able to perfectly capture the mindset of the team as a whole, in terms of finding the right balance between treating Friday night’s opener just like any other game but while also still realizing what was at stake. He said:

“It’s a big series obviously, but you try to treat it like any other game and take care of business. Come out with some urgency, but don’t try and do anything more. Just do your job, and I feel like everyone did that great today.”

While a sweep in Houston would be the preferred outcome for the Mariners, just getting one more win and taking this series would all but set them up to win the AL West. This would then lead to a scenario where if the M’s could go .500 in their final six-game homestand, then the Astros would need to go 5-1 to win the division due to the head-to-head tiebreaker.

In their quest to get that second vital win in this series, the Mariners will send George Kirby to the mound on Saturday evening. However, before then the team and their fanbase will anxiously await an update on Woo and hope the news is positive, for a franchise which deserves some good luck for once.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rodgers Photography

While it’s important to remain positive, how concerned are you about the outcome of Woo’s MRI? How vital is he to the Mariners’ chances of postseason success? Worst case scenario, do you have faith in the likes of Logan Gilbert and George Kirby picking up the slack? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below

2 Replies to “Mariners beat Astros but anxiously await Bryan Woo injury update”

  1. Pingback: Mariners have zero plans to put Bryan Woo on the Injured List
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