Sep 27, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryan Woo (22) during the first inning against the Oakland Athletics at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
Bryan Woo grew up in Alameda, California, so he took special interest when the Oakland A’s played their final game at the Coliseum on Thursday before embarking on a three-year stop in Sacramento en route to their planned new home in Las Vegas. .
“I have a lot of friends who were there (Thursday) and saw a lot of things on social media,” the Seattle Mariners right-hander said. “It was great to see how many people showed up (46,889). I’ve said it before, but it’s unfortunate what happened.”
“Personally, I have a lot of memories from that place. And I know it’s the same for a lot of other people, people who grew up enjoying baseball there, learning baseball there. I’m definitely glad they were able to come out with a win and a positive note.” “I think it means a lot to the city and the fan base.”
Woo wasn’t quite as nostalgic on Friday, pitching five scoreless innings with eight strikeouts in a 2-0 win against Oakland.
The season-ending three-game series between the American League West rivals will continue Saturday night in Seattle.
Woo and relievers Gabe Speier, Gregory Santos, Tayler Saucedo and Troy Taylor combined to throw five hits and 14 strikeouts.
Woo improved to 3-0 with a 0.57 ERA in six career starts against the A’s.
“We can’t figure it out. Going into next season, we’re going to have to make adjustments against this kid,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “Tonight he beat us again, eight strikeouts.”
Mitch Garver and Cal Raleigh hit solo home runs for the Mariners on Friday. Raleigh’s home run was his 32nd of the season and gave him 97 RBIs, the most on the team in both categories by a wide margin.
Even though Seattle (83-77) was eliminated from the postseason on Thursday, a crowd of 41,429 showed up for the first game of the finals series.
“In these last three games, I don’t think anything has changed much,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “To be honest, I think our goal is to win these three games. They are just as important as the others. They don’t have the reward of the playoffs at the end. But this is what we want. We want to win.”
The Mariners are scheduled to start right-handed pitcher Emerson Hancock (4-4, 4.72 ERA) on Saturday. Hancock last pitched last Saturday, allowing two runs and five hits in five innings in an 8-4 victory over the Texas Rangers.
Hancock has never faced the A’s, who are scheduled to send right-hander Joey Estes (7-9, 4.99) to the mound on Saturday.
Estes’ first two major league wins came this season against the Mariners. Estes, who lost his major league debut against Seattle last September, is 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA in four career starts against the Mariners.
He beat them 8-1 on May 11 in Seattle to earn his first victory, allowing just two hits and one run in five innings. Estes was even better on June 5 in Oakland, allowing the Mariners one hit in 6 1/3 innings in a 2-1 victory.
He suffered a 6-4 loss to Seattle on September 5 at home, when he allowed four runs on six hits in four innings.
That loss to Seattle caused Estes to have an inconsistent final month. He has lost his last two starts, allowing 11 runs and 16 hits in five total innings. That includes a 7-4 loss to the New York Yankees on Sunday in their final start at the Coliseum before the A’s (69-91) move on.
–Field level media
