By Paul L. Taylor Posted on

Mariners get a gem from Bryan Woo and clinch Rangers series

The Mariners clinch their second series of the year, as Rob Refsnyder hits his first homer to set them up for a 5-2 win in the rubber match.

It was a picturesque sunny afternoon on Sunday for the Mariners in Seattle, as they beat the Rangers 5-2 to secure their second series win of the season. There was everything you could ask for, from Rob Refsnyder’s first hit with the team doubling as a lead-off home run, to J.P. Crawford continuing his recent revival at the plate, to Andrés Muñoz looking more like his old self with three strikeouts in the ninth to secure the save.

However, it’s hard to look past Bryan Woo’s fifth outing of the season, with him continuing where he left off last season as the best arm in the Mariners’ rotation. It doesn’t matter that he wasn’t the Opening Day starter, with that mainly being done to help mitigate his durability – he is the de facto pitching staff ace.

Woo’s best start of the season to date is his one-hit, one walk 7.0 shutout innings with six Ks in the Mariners’ only road win to date, versus the Angels. And on Sunday afternoon he was on a similar trajectory versus the Rangers, having allowed just two hits and striking out five over 6.0 scoreless innings and helping his club to a 5-0 lead.

Randy Arozarena and others help Bryan Woo build a 5-0 lead for the Mariners

Refsnyder had finally announced his arrival to the Mariners by going yard on the very first pitch in the bottom of the first, while Crawford and Randy Arozarena has added two-run blasts of their own. Then the Rangers finally managed to get to Woo in the top of the seventh, and for a moment it had the potential to get ugly for the home side.

We’ve all been almost spoiled by just how good and consistent Woo has been since entering the rotation full time two years ago around this time, so any time he looks less than dominant it’s somewhat of a surprise. However, even the best pitchers still have their off-moments.

With Woo, it’s that it all happened in quick succession during the seventh inning, as he allowed a hit, a walk and a hit by pitch to load the bases for the Rangers with just one out. The visitors then cashed in with two runs to pull to within 5-2, and there was understandable concern they were going to get even closer, with two men in scoring position and the M’s 2025 All-Star laboring.

Bryan Woo continually demands more of himself no matter how good he pitches

However, you should never doubt Woo even when he’s having some issues, with a superior mental fortitude that compliments his talent and work ethic. He subsequently managed to force a ground out to first base to get the final out and escape the seventh inning with no further damage.

It ended Woo’s day, but he’d more than done his job, and Gabe Speier along with Muñoz each pitched a scoreless inning out of the bullpen to clinch the 5-2 win and the series. As you’d expect, Mariners manager Dan Wilson was complimentary about his starter’s performance on the day, as he said:

“Bryan Woo just continues to throw the ball really well and I thought attack the zone. For a while there he was really cruising, really sailing. He gave up the lead-off hit to (Brandon) Nimmo, but then after that it was just lights out from there. I thought he and Garve again did a really nice job.”

Part of what makes Woo so great is the high standards he sets for himself, so whereas a lot of pitchers would be happy with an outing like his, he was not pleased with how things unravelled slightly in the seventh inning. He said:

“Hitting Joc (Pederson) was stupid. But it’s just the concept of keeping teams down when they’re down, not giving them any life. When we got a lead and I’m going out for whatever it is later in the game, not letting them have any momentum, not letting them breathe in any way. Just keeping our foot on the gas. We give up the two there and then it’s like bats for the next inning for Gabe are just more stressful. There’s no need for that if I just do my job. So, yeah, still beat myself up over it.”

Mariners’ team-first mentality has helped them stick together through an uneven start

As hard as Woo is on himself, he also knows it’s a team game, with the players all being there to support each other through the ups and downs. Certainly the Mariners have already experienced plenty of this in 2026, as evidenced by their subpar 10-13 start through 23 games in a year with lofty goals.

Despite these early inconsistencies however, what’s been clear is how close the roster is, and Woo acknowledges how much this has helped them as a collective. He said:

“You win as a team, you lose as a team. I think there’s going to be plenty of times throughout the year where the pitching’s still great and the offense doesn’t score, or vice versa. They’re going to score a bunch of runs and pitchers are going to let it go. … I think it’s easier to show up every day knowing that each guy’s got each other’s back offensively, defensively. It’s just much more consistent that way. It’s not, I don’t want to say healthy, but you could shift blame on anybody all day long (and) it’s not going to do anybody any good.”

When you talk about leaders on this Mariners team, the first name that comes to mind is Cal Raleigh, closely followed by the likes of Crawford, Brendan Donovan and more recently Julio Rodríguez. However, the more and more you listen to Woo, he deserves his place among those in the clubhouse who the rest of the players turn to in both good times and bad, for inspiration.

Woo actually already proved this with his decision to put the Mariners first, by deciding not to accept an invite to represent Team USA at this year’s World Baseball Classic. His sterling reputation has only grown during his time in Seattle, but expect this growth to also take place on a national level in the majors, as he continues to shows just what he’s capable of on the mound.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rogers Photography

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