~ Seattle Mariners 2026 ~ 
Good morning everyone and happy Saturday!
KC 7 vs. 6 SEA
SEATTLE -- One clunker for Bryan Woo could be easily washed away.
But two -- especially in a row, and especially for one of the American League’s emerging aces -- will raise eyebrows, as they did in the Mariners’ 7-6 loss to the Royals on Friday night at T-Mobile Park.
Two culprits jump out tonight. First, he had the same problem that got him into trouble on Saturday: leaking over the plate. I’m going to let a picture tell a thousand words here. That big empty circle in the strike-side of the shadow zone? That’s generally
where one wants to throw the ball.
Seattle’s electric right-hander was tagged for four earned runs on five hits in the first inning, then two solo homers in the sixth. That put Seattle’s offense in too big a hole to climb out of, though it made things interesting, thanks to the two most majestic
homers so far this season from Julio Rodríguez and four homers total.
Julio Rodríguez's four-RBI, two-homer game
For a pitcher who’s spoken stern self-criticism all season, even in wins, how will Woo flush these and move on?
“It's a good question,” Woo said. “I don't know. You try not to search too much in situations like this, where you're not just bad, but you really get your [butt] kicked. So, yeah, I don't know. We'll dive into it a little bit and try to make some adjustments.
“I don't want to change the core of who I am and what I do. There's a lot of baseball left. You've got to pick yourself up off the mat and keep fighting.”
Woo surrendered three straight singles to begin the outing that led to the game’s first run, then a pair of RBI doubles before getting out of it. The four-spot marked the most earned runs he’d surrendered in the first inning over any of his 77 career starts.
Then, after Seattle’s bats clawed back to make it a one-run game, Woo got bit by the long ball in the sixth, via pull-side blasts from big lefties Vinnie Pasquantino (2-0 fastball) and Jac Caglianone (first-pitch sweeper).
He’s now surrendered six homers over his past two starts, including the four on Saturday in St. Louis. But he was one of just four starters who didn’t give up a homer over his first five starts.
That said, in between the first and the sixth innings on Friday, Woo retired 13 in a row -- looking much more like his trademark self.
"My process might have been all right, but I still got my [butt] kicked,” Woo said. “There's a balance to it. So you try to take the good and learn from bad. It sucks. It's never a good feeling, just putting your team in a hole like that, and especially back-to-
back starts."
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MAY 01: Randy Arozarena #56 (Photo by Olivia Vanni/Getty Images) Getty Images
Randy Arozarena's Third Homer of 2026
Randy Arozarena's third homer of 2026 is a solo homer in the bottom of the 6th to get the Mariners back within two
The Cardinals were in swing mode from the get-go last Saturday, diligently trying to ambush Woo for his reputation of being in the zone. The Royals played more count leverage, but also benefited from connecting on quite a few pitches that leaked over
the plate.
“I just didn't execute well with two strikes, fell behind a few guys that got into some predictable count,” Woo said. “But it's baseball.”
The glimpses of good shouldn’t be ignored. But it becomes more difficult to recognize them -- for Woo more than anyone -- when the not-so-good snowballs like it did in the first and then sixth innings.
Between these two outings, Woo has given up 13 earned runs -- his most ever in consecutive starts. His previous high in back-to-back starts was 11, on Sept. 17 (vs. Yankees) and Sept. 22 (at Rangers) in 2024.
“It's a tough hill to climb after giving up the four,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “But I thought he came back and really found his stuff.”
The Mariners were looking to move above .500 for the first time since March 30, when they were 3-2. But they now won’t get that chance again until Sunday at the earliest.
“One thing I do know is Bryan holds himself to a high standard,” said Cal Raleigh, Woo’s batterymate on Friday, “and he's done a great job of getting to the point where he's at. He wants to help the team as much as he can. He's a good teammate, so he
takes things hard sometimes. Sometimes things are within his control, and sometimes it's not. So, regardless of it, he usually bounces back pretty well.”
