Bryan Woo bounces back in win against Angels

Woo’s struggles on the road persisted in this one as he surrendered nine hits, including a second-inning solo shot to rookie Owen Caissie. He finished with five strikeouts and only issued one walk. The 26-year-old holds a bloated 6.28 ERA across 10 road starts while boasting a sparkling 2.10 mark across eight home outings this season.

Woo allowed six hits and two walks, needing 86 pitches (57 strikes) to get through four innings in a rare clunker. He finished with four strikeouts in his shortest outing since a three-inning blowup against the Cardinals on April 25. He draws a soft matchup Monday against the Angels, putting him in a prime position to rebound.

Woo scattered just three hits on the day while allowing only one base on balls. The only real jam that he got into was in the eighth inning as he allowed a leadoff single to Leody Taveras and walked Colton Cowser before turning the ball over to the bullpen. Woo generated 12 swings and misses on 89 pitches on the afternoon — seven on his fastball — while registering a CSW of 29 percent. He’ll look to replicate this fine outing as he carries a 3.94 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and an 88/16 K/BB ratio (89 innings) into Wednesday’s battle against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

There’s a lot to unpack here. According to Mariners general manager Justin Hollander, it was a unanimous decision by all six starters — Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Emerson Hancock, Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo — to move to a schedule where each pitcher will rotate through and have piggyback days. Ironically, the arrangement will begin with Castillo piggybacking out of the bullpen with Miller during Friday’s series opener against the Red Sox. The decision will have a significant fantasy impact simply by reducing the overall volume for each starter over the next few weeks. The unorthodox arrangement feels like a temporary stopgap solution until the arrival of top prospects Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan later this summer ultimately forces Seattle to move on from at least one of their veteran arms.

Woo struck out four batters in the contest while allowing one base on balls. He kept the Orioles off the board for the first three innings, but the train came off the tracks in the third as the O’s roughed him up for six runs including a solo homer by Colton Cowser and a two-run blast by Pete Alonso. The 26-year-old hurler got nine swings and misses on 82 pitches on the evening, posting a CSW of 23 percent. Now 5-5 on the season, he’ll tote a 4.28 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and a 79/15 K/BB ratio (82 innings) into a rematch against the Orioles at home on Thursday.

On the plus side for fantasy managers, Woo racked up seven strikeouts on the evening and didn’t walk a batter. The Tigers got to him for three runs in the third inning, including a two-run blast by Kerry Carpenter. Woo then loaded the bases with one out in the seventh before turning the ball over to the bullpen and two of those runs scored as well. He generated 12 swings and misses on 90 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 29 percent. He’ll try to get back in the win column as he carries a 3.74 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and a 75/14 K/BB ratio (77 innings) into Thursday’s matchup agaist the Orioles in Baltimore.

Woo, who threw first-pitch strikes to 18 of 23 batters, matched his season high for strikeouts and went without giving up a run for the fourth time in 12 starts this season. He’s 5-3 with a 3.34 ERA, and he’s due to face the struggling Tigers in Detroit next week.

Woo had good velocity today, beating his season averages by nearly one mph, but he gave up 10 hard-hit balls anyway, including a 371-foot double that would have been a homer in 18 ballparks. Woo lost a three-game winning streak that saw him allow two runs in 18 innings over his previous three starts and fell to 4-3 with a 3.82 ERA on the season. He’ll probably bounce back against the D-backs next weekend.

Woo was excellent again, and outside of a first-inning where he issued a pair of walks, he had his usual excellent command. The six scoreless lower his ERA to 3.51 on the year, but it’s worth noting that 13 of the 23 runs he allowed back in back-to-back outings, and since then he’s been back to his All-Star level. Woo is as consistent as they get, and will likely have a similar start Sunday when he faces the Royals in Kansas City.

Woo gave up a run in the second inning on two hits. The Astros would plate a second run on two walks and a hit in the third. He settled in for three more scoreless innings, ending his day after six at 104 pitches. Woo threw 74 for strikes and generated 14 whiffs to strike out nine batters. That’s back-to-back nine-strikeout efforts. The 26-year-old right-hander will take a 3.91 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and a 47/10 K/BB ratio across 53 innings into a start against the White Sox in Seattle on Monday.