Bryan Woo, a starting pitcher for the Seattle Mariners, faced difficulties on May 2 during the team’s 7-6 loss to the Kansas City Royals at T-Mobile Park. Woo allowed four earned runs in the first inning and two solo home runs in the sixth, marking his second consecutive challenging start.
These recent outings have drawn attention because Woo had been one of the American League’s emerging pitchers. He had not given up any home runs over his first five starts this season but has now surrendered six homers across his last two games. The Mariners’ offense attempted to recover with four home runs, including notable shots from Julio Rodríguez, but could not overcome the early deficit.
After Friday’s game, Woo said about his performance: “It’s a good question. 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.” He added: “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 struggled early by giving up three straight singles leading to an initial run for Kansas City and then two RBI doubles before ending the inning with four earned runs—his highest total ever allowed in a first inning over 77 career starts. In spite of these challenges, he managed to retire 13 batters consecutively between innings.
Reflecting on how opponents approached him differently compared to previous games, Woo said: “I just didn’t execute well with two strikes, fell behind a few guys that got into some predictable count… But it’s baseball.” Mariners manager Dan Wilson commented on Woo’s resilience: “It’s a tough hill to climb after giving up the four,” adding that he thought Woo “came back and really found his stuff.” Cal Raleigh, who caught for Woo during Friday’s game, also spoke about him: “One thing I do know is Bryan holds himself to a high standard,” Raleigh said. “He wants to help the team as much as he can… So regardless of it, he usually bounces back pretty well.”
The Mariners were hoping for their first record above .500 since March 30 but will need another opportunity later in their schedule.
