The 2025 All-Star has been out for a month with right pectoral inflammation
SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners pitching staff has taken center stage in the team's recent postseason games.
The Mariners staff hasn't allowed more than three runs in three consecutive games. The team has won all three of those contests, which consisted of Game 5 of an American League Divisional Series and Games 1 and 2 of the American League Championship Series.
Seattle's pitching staff has posted a 2.83 ERA in the playoffs, which is the lowest team ERA by the four teams remaining in the postseason. The two teams competing in the NLCS, the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers, had ERAs of 3.05 and 3.12, respectively, entering Tuesday. The Mariners' competition in the ALCS, the Toronto Blue Jays, have a 5.09 ERA.
What's more impressive is that the Mariners have been able to accomplish that without their best starter.
Bryan Woo, a 2025 All-Star, has been out since Sept. 19 due to right pectoral inflammation. Woo was left off the American League Divisional Series roster due to the injury but was included on the ALCS roster. He's "tentatively" scheduled to go for Game 5, if the series gets to that point albeit on a pitch count.
Woo threw a live bullpen before Game 2 of the ALCS on Monday. The reports from the bullpen were positive. According to Woo, there's just one step left before he makes his return.
"Obviously frustrating not being out there," Woo said in a news conference Tuesday. "Everything looks good, feels good so far. I'll be ready to go whenever my name gets called."
Woo didn't have a percentage on where he was at in terms of how healthy he was, but was adamant he'd be ready to go.
Woo was one of two pitchers on the rotation to start 30 or more games this season. He posted a 2.94 ERA with 198 strikeouts in 186.2 innings pitched across his 30 starts. He didn't have a monthly ERA above 3.69 the entire season.
Woo has dealt with injuries before in his career. He had two stints on the injured list last season, which limited him to 22 outings. He maintained his health until his pec inflammation this year.
Despite being frustrated at not being able to pitch in the playoffs to this point, Woo has been intentional in his recovery as to not rush himself back, and his past time rehabbing has helped him navigate his current ailment.
"The previous experiences help," Woo said. I think it all comes down to trusting myself, my routine and also trusting the training staff. Knowing they have my best interests in mind and then control what you can control each day, which is just try to get better. Get healthier, do what I have to do to just inch to get back on the field each day. It's just small steps. You don't try and do anything too big each day. It's just little by little."
Seattle and Toronto will play Game 3 of the ALCS at 5:08 p.m. PT on Wednesday. George Kirby will start for the Mariners and Shane Bieber will start for the Blue Jays.
RELATED MARINERS STORIES
DETROIT TIGERS MANAGER A.J. HINCH HAS KIND WORDS FOR MARINERS: A.J. Hinch, who's team fell to the Mariners in the 2025 American League Divisional Series, had positive words about the team's pitching staff and lineup. CLICK HERE
JORGE POLANCO TIES MARINERS LEGEND IN FRANCHISE HISTORY: Polanco's heroics this postseason has brought him even with Ken Griffey Jr. in an incredible stat. CLICK HERE
MARINERS PULL AHEAD 2-0 IN ALCS AFTER 10-3 WIN AGAINST BLUE JAYS: The Mariners offense had its best showing of the playoffs and will return to Seattle up two games on Toronto. CLICK HERE
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Remember to join our MARINERS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Mariners fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!