The frustration from losing a bid at perfection and then not being able to finish the seventh inning was obvious from Bryan Woo as he handed the ball to manager Dan Wilson.
But as Woo started to stalk off the mound toward first base dugout Wednesday evening, the boisterous crowd of 21,129 at T-Mobile Park rose in appreciation of what they had just witnessed.
With each step from Woo, the applause grew louder. A glance to the dugout revealed his teammates all standing and applauding his effort. Gradually the anger mostly disappeared from his face and a look of gratitude broke through.
He’d pitched brilliantly against a potent lineup, giving the Mariners, who are in must-win mode, a chance for victory.
Unlike far too many quality starts from their talented starting rotation, the Mariners made sure not to waste his outing by providing better-than-expected offense in what would be a 5-2 win over the Padres.
With Houston dropping it’s second straight game by one run to the A’s, the Mariners moved to within 3.5 games of the Astros for the American League West lead.
“That’s a good offensive team,” Wilson said. “I think what they do offensively is difficult. After the first and second inning, you could tell something special was happening. He really had good stuff from the swings they were taking early on. You could tell that his ball had a little extra life, and his secondary stuff, I thought was excellent as well.”
Woo’s quest to throw the first perfect game at T-Mobile Park since Felix Hernandez’s magical moment on August 15, 2012 ended with one out in the seventh inning when Fernando Tatis Jr. yanked an inside fastball sinker down the left field line for a solo homer. The screaming line drive, which had a 116-mph exit velocity, somehow stayed fair and showed Tatis’ preposterous talent.
Normally stoic at all times on the field, Woo’s poker face broke on the Tatis homer. He’d lost a chance at perfection and given up a homer in the process.
“It was a good pitch and a good swing,” Woo said. “Tip your cap.”
Jurickson Profar followed with a double, forcing Woo to throw out of the stretch for the first time in the game. He struck out Manny Machado for the second out, but lost a nine-pitch battle with Jake Cronenworth and issued a walk.
“The walk to Cronenworth is what really bothered me,” Woo said.
Wilson went to the bullpen instead of letting Woo try to finish the inning, calling on rookie Troy Taylor.
“Bryan is very businesslike on the mound,” Wilson said. “He’s kind of a quiet guy, but there’s a lot of intensity in there. And I think we saw that tonight.”
Wilson saw the intensity firsthand when he had to take the ball from Woo.
“It was a tough one,” Wilson said. “I just thought it was a long inning. By far, his longest inning of the night. And Cronenworth gave him quite an at-bat.”
Woo admittedly wasn’t pleased to see his new manager heading to the mound.
“It is what it is,” he said. “It’s more just me wanting to finish the job and at least finish that inning. We talked about it already. I’m not questioning any of his decisions. But just as a competitor, you want to finish the inning.”
Woo looked like he could chew through his glove as he had to leave the game.
“I could probably still do it right now,” he said with a deep exhale. “You’re obviously frustrated as a competitor. You know what you’re doing is special, if you just kind of stay in the moment.”
Taylor gave up an RBI single to Xander Bogaerts with the run being charged to Woo, but came back to strike out Jackson Merrill to end the inning.
Woo’s final line: 6 2/3 innings pitched, two runs allowed on two hits with a walk and five strikeouts. He improved to 8-2 on the season while his season ERA actually increased from 2.36 to 2.38.
He had no indication before the game that his stuff and command would be that good.
“I didn’t feel great in catch play,” he said. “I didn’t feel great in the bullpen. I was just kind of all over the place, and then you get out there and it just clicks. It’s just a weird game.”
While the performance was great, his cleat game might have been even better. Woo broke out a pair of custom-designed Nike spikes that were a collaboration with his agent and social media personality Rob Friedman, who is known as The Pitching Ninja. The light blue cleats had a picture of renowned wrester Ric Flair, screaming his trademark line: “WOOOOO!!!” The Mariners play that sound after every one of Woo’s strikeouts and scoreless innings.
“My agent reached out, and asked, ‘Would you be open to doing something like that?'” Woo said. “I’m not really too flashy. I think I’ve worn the same pair of cleats every game for like the last two years. I’m a little bit of like superstitious and like comfort. I told him it has to be this specific cleat because it just fits my foot well and whatever.”
Woo’s agent and Friedman followed instructions and collaborated on a shoe with the help of Lucia Footwear Co.
“That’s something that’s a little out of my comfort zone,” Woo said. “They are a little bit out there, but I’m sticking with them now, and you’ll see them next my next start.”
After looking dominant for the first two innings, striking out four of the first seven batters he faced, Padres starter Michael King wavered in the third inning. He issued a one-out walk to No. 9 hitter Josh Rojas and then hit Victor Robles with a pitch to put runners on first and second with one out.
He should’ve gotten at least one out and possibly out of the inning with a double play when Julio Rodriguez hit a ground ball to Bogaerts at shortstop. But Cronenworth mishandled the throw at second from Bogaerts, dropping it as he tried to make a quick play. Second base umpire Tripp Gibson originally ruled Robles out at second on the force play and that Cronenworth dropped the ball on the transfer. But a replay review showed that Cronenworth never had control of the ball. The call was overturned and the Mariners had the bases loaded with one out.
Cal Raleigh gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead, dumping a single into right field, giving him his 92nd RBI of the season.
After Randy Arozarena was rung up on a called third strike, Luke Raley made sure the scoring opportunity wasn’t wasted despite falling behind 1-2. Raley worked the count full and fouled off a tough pitch before singling to right field to score two more runs for a 3-0 lead.
The Mariners added two more runs in the sixth on J.P. Crawford’s two-run double to right field.
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