SEATTLE — Bryan Woo paced the outfield grass and toward the home bullpen at T-Mobile Park in the middle of the third inning on Wednesday night, head down and intensity high.
The Mariners’ electric right-hander spent the rest of Game 3 of the American League Championship Series among his reliever teammates beyond left field, but never wound up entering Seattle’s 13-4 loss to the Blue Jays.
That was apparently by design, as Mariners manager Dan Wilson said postgame that Woo was sent out there more to get adjusted to the bullpen surroundings in case he finds himself pitching in relief.
“A good chance for him tonight to just get out there and get acclimated in case that’s a place where he comes out of later in the series,” Wilson said. “So a chance to just get comfortable out there and see what it’s like. So that’s really what it was about tonight for Bryan.”
Woo’s status was already of immense intrigue, given that he was added to the ALCS roster after being left off Seattle’s 26-man contingent for the AL Division Series vs. Detroit. That became even more so, given that the club is now toying with the idea of using him in relief — which itself will likely hinge on how Game 4 develops behind Luis Castillo.
Seattle saw its series lead trimmed to 2-1 in this best-of-seven round. But the club can still advance to its first World Series in franchise history by winning two of the next four games. And mathematically, the Mariners have the upper hand, as they also still hold home-field advantage, with Games 4 and 5 both now guaranteed at T-Mobile Park.
In the history of best-of-seven postseason series, teams that have lost Game 3 when holding a 2-0 series lead have gone on to win the series 39 of 53 times (73.6%). In series with the current 2-3-2 format, teams losing Game 3 at home when up 2-0 have still gone on to win eight of 11 times (72.7%). The only teams to overcome that deficit were the 1985 Royals, 1986 Mets and 1996 Yankees, all in the World Series.
So, again, history is on the Mariners’ side. But pressure elevated a little more after Wednesday.
“They are here for a reason, too,” said Julio Rodríguez, who hit a massive, two-run homer in the first inning. “I think they’re a really good team. And they came out swinging today, and they were able to definitely get the [win]. But it’s one game, and we know and they know that we’ve got to line up tomorrow and play a baseball game again.”
The Mariners will turn to Woo at some point soon. But they’d clearly prefer for his usage to be of import, and not in mop-up duty. They’ve tentatively been eying Game 5 on Friday, but it’s also clear that they could adjust, given that he went out to the bullpen on Wednesday just after Toronto put up a five-spot vs. George Kirby to make it a 5-2 game.
If and when Woo is deployed, it will be on an abbreviated pitch count, after throwing roughly 25 pitches in a live batting practice on Monday. He hasn’t pitched in a game since exiting a Sept. 19 start in Houston with pectoral inflammation, and he’s never pitched in relief in the Majors.
Seattle’s most immediate order of business is Game 4, in which Castillo will start opposite Max Scherzer. Castillo most recently pitched in the 15-inning ALDS Game 5 marathon when recording the final four outs, and he’ll be on an extra day’s rest as such.
The Mariners don’t just need Castillo to keep the game within reach, as he did in his lone start in these playoffs back in ALDS Game 2. Just as much, the Mariners also need their offense to get to Scherzer early, as they’ve been able to bully the Blue Jays’ bullpen through the first three games but haven’t had as much success against their starters.
The Mariners have been limited to a .628 OPS vs. Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage and Shane Bieber, who rebounded from Rodríguez’s homer on Wednesday to go scoreless the rest of the way. But against Toronto’s relievers, the Mariners have a .995 OPS, with homers from Randy Arozarena and Cal Raleigh in the eighth inning in Game 3, when the contest was already well decided.
“It’s the goal every day — strike first, get the momentum and keep the momentum,” J.P. Crawford said. “And that’s what we have to do tomorrow.”
Scherzer, 41, is a three-time Cy Young Award winner, a two-time World Series champion and likely headed to the Hall of Fame once he retires. But he’s been far more susceptible of late, tagged for a 9.00 ERA over his final six starts and left off Toronto’s ALDS roster vs. the Yankees.
Sidelined for nearly three months in the regular season with right thumb inflammation, Scherzer will be making his first start vs. the Mariners in ’25.
Castillo, meanwhile, was hit hard by the Blue Jays in two starts this year — as they tagged him for 17 hits and eight runs in 10 innings (7.20 ERA). Like Scherzer, he also went through a rough spell (10.06 ERA in four starts from August into early September).
“It’s a long season in baseball, there are highs and lows,” Castillo said through an interpreter. “You always have to go out there, keep your head up, and just wait for those good moments to come. To me, it came at the right time, just because I knew it was an important part that needed to happen. For me, it was just kind of the start of something good to come.”
The Mariners certainly need it, because a loss in Game 4 would ensure that this series would shift back to Toronto for at least a Game 6.
