NEW YORK -- Before I covered the Seattle Mariners, I worked in New England radio, being forced to talk about some really bad New England Patriots football teams. The 2020 COVID Patriots with Cam Newton, the Mac Jones Patriots, and the Jacoby Brissett Patriots. They made the playoffs one time from 2020-24, and they were largely unwatchable.

It was bad, mostly across the board, and often times, the games would be meaningless because of the Pats position in the standings. I dubbed my conversations about Patriots losses as "moral victory season," trying to find silver linings in a bad year.

With regards to the Mariners, at 56-64, it feels like we are rapidly approaching "moral victory season." Nobody wants to hear that in a season that started with such expectations, but it is just the reality.

Not everything I write or say has to be negative, some nice things can in there as well. And if you're looking for that? You got a bit of it on Tuesday night.

Despite a 4-1 loss against the New York Yankees that turned Mariners fans even more against manager Dan Wilson, Bryan Woo delivered five scoreless innings on the road.

For a guy who has an ERA over 6.00 on the road and has had his season defined by his road struggles, that's a positive development for him. Furthermore, to do it in Yankee Stadium, which is hitter-friendly, is also a confidence builder. Woo absorbed a 30-pitch first inning and was still able to get through five, showing his ability to adapt, adjust and problem-solve. He now has 12 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to his last start at home, which gives him some much needed positive momentum.

After the game, Woo spoke about his outing and the credit he gave to Cal Raleigh for helping him through it. He also spoke about supporting Raleigh through his difficult season, Raleigh's work with the pitching staff, as well as his own pitching plan and pitch sequencing.

You can watch that video below:

The Mariners and Yankees will play again on Wednesday afternoon with first pitch coming at 4:05 p.m. PT. 

Seattle enters play at 4.5 games back of the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West. The Mariners and Astros will play each other for three games over the weekend in Houston. Those three games could go a long way in deciding how the final 35 games look for Seattle, or if we are permanently onto "moral victory season."

The most recent 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast is out, featuring Lyle and TJ from the Marine Layer Podcast. You can listen here or you can watch in the YouTube player below.