Bryan Woo shuts out Tigers through seven

Woo struck out five and allowed two homers on the afternoon. He served up a two-run shot to Bryce Harper in the first and a three-run blast to Kyle Schwarber in the second. The right-hander was making his first start since August 16 after his weekend outing was skipped due to shoulder soreness. Philadelphia is a tough matchup to return to after a longer-than-usual gap between starts. Woo will look to rebound next time out against the Red Sox at Fenway.

There was plenty of reason to suspect that Woo would wind up requiring a trip to the injured list after experiencing shoulder soreness during his previous outing against the Astros back on August 16. The 26-year-old was able to complete a bullpen session over the weekend without any issues and should be ready to take the ball later this week. Obviously, fantasy managers should keep a close eye on his status in the coming weeks.

Woo, who experienced shoulder soreness in his last start, was apparently encouraged by his performance today, but it doesn’t sound like he’s pain-free. Ideally, he’d face the Phillies on Wednesday, but that probably hinges on how he feels tomorrow.

Woo had been scheduled to start in Sunday’s series finale against the Cubs, but Bryce Miller will move up a day to take that assignment instead. As of now, it sounds like Woo will work back into the rotation at some point next week, but it’s also possible that the shoulder soreness that he’s experiencing could ultimately land him on the injured list. Fantasy managers should be sure to have a contingency plan in place for next week.

Woo completed six innings in the win tonight, but he was only at 75 pitches, and it sounds like he would have continued if not for the shoulder issue getting him lifted as a precaution. Woo said after the game that he wasn’t concerned about it. Still, if he winds up on the IL, that would open up a spot for top prospect Kade Anderson. Anderson, though, should really be in the majors regardless.

The runs came on solo homers from Jeremy Peña and Nick Allen. With Seattle’s pen holding on to a one-run lead, Woo earned his ninth win, though just his second on the road. He had been 1-8 with a 6.22 ERA in 13 starts outside of Seattle. Woo will get a home start next time out against the Cubs.

Woo had his first good road start in three months tonight, but it didn’t matter. He departed with a 1-0 lead and then watched the Yankees score four times in the seventh. Woo is due to pitch on the road again Sunday against the Astros. If the Mariners call up Kade Anderson and push Woo back, he’d still pitch on the road Tuesday in Milwaukee.

Instead of pitching at home against the Twins, Woo had to face the Dodgers on the road as a result of Bryce Miller being pushed back. Woo struck out eight and allowed just three hard-hit balls, which likely would have led to a much better showing most nights. However, the Dodgers got two in the first on an overturned full count pitch to start the inning, a soft flyball single and then a two-run double from Mookie Betts. The other three runs came in the fourth on another walk, a soft infield single and a homer from Dalton Rushing. Those two walks were the only ones Woo issued, but they played a big role in him falling to 7-8 with a 4.56 ERA. He’s obviously better than this and he’ll probably show it during the final two months, but at this point, a third straight year with a sub-3.00 ERA will be nearly impossible to pull off.

It’s a welcome development for fantasy managers as Miller will be spared from having to face the Dodgers in Los Angeles. That honor goes to Bryan Woo instead. The 27-year-old righty is getting some extra rest after being tagged for five runs over 5 1/3 innings by the Rangers his last time out.

Mariners pitchers tend to have significant home-road splits, since T-Mobile Park is so tough on hitters, but Woo has taken it to extremes this year. He’s 6-0 with a 2.20 ERA at home and now 1-7 with a 6.52 ERA on the road after dropping this one. It seems sort of fluky; he has a 50/14 K/BB with eight homers allowed in 58 innings on the road, which wouldn’t typically add up to a 6.52 ERA. Still, it’s good to know that he’ll be back at home next week for his start versus the Twins.