Bryan Woo carries perfect game into seventh; Mariners finish off Padres
SEATTLE – The frustration from losing a bid at perfection and then not being able to finish the seventh inning was obvious from Bryan Woo as he handed the ball to manager Dan Wilson.
But as Woo started to stalk off the mound toward the first-base dugout, the boisterous crowd of 21,129 rose in appreciation of what they had just witnessed.
With each step from Woo, the applause grew louder. A glance to the dugout revealed his teammates all standing and applauding his effort. Gradually, the anger disappeared from his face and a look of gratitude broke through.
He’d pitched brilliantly against a potent lineup, giving the Mariners, who are in must-win mode, a chance for victory.
Unlike far too many quality starts from their talented starting rotation, the Mariners made sure not to waste his outing by providing better-than-expected offense in what would be a 5-2 win over the Padres.
The Mariners moved to within 3½ games of the Astros for the American League West lead. Houston lost to the Athletics 5-4 on Wednesday, its second straight one-run loss to Oakland.
Woo’s quest to throw the first perfect game at T-Mobile Park since Felix Hernandez’s magical moment on Aug. 15, 2012, ended with one out in the seventh inning when Fernando Tatis Jr. yanked an inside fastball sinker the left-field line for a solo homer. The line drive, which had a 116-mph exit velocity, somehow stayed fair and showed Tatis’ talent.
Normally stoic at all times on the field, Woo’s poker face broke on the Tatis homer. He’d lost a chance a perfection and given up a homer in the process.
Jurickson Profar followed with a double, forcing Woo to throw out of the stretch for the first time in the game. He struck out Manny Machado for the second out but lost a nine-pitch battle with Jake Cronenworth and issued a walk.
Mariners manager Dan Wilson went to the bullpen instead of letting Woo try to finish the inning, calling on rookie Troy Taylor.
Taylor gave up an RBI single to Xander Bogaerts, with the run being charged to Woo, but came back to strike out Jackson Merrill to end the inning.
Woo’s final line: 6⅔ innings pitched, two runs allowed on two hits with a walk and five strikeouts.
After looking dominant for the first two innings, striking out four of the first seven batters he faced, Padres starter Michael King wavered in the third.
He issued a one-out walk to No. 9 hitter Josh Rojas and hit Victor Robles with a pitch to put runners on first and second with one out.
He should’ve recorded at least one out – and possibly got out of the inning with a double play – when Julio Rodriguez hit a ground ball to shortstop Xander Bogaerts. But second baseman Jake Cronenworth mishandled the throw from Bogaerts, dropping it as he tried to make a quick play. Second base umpire Tripp Gibson originally ruled Robles out at second on the force play and that Cronenworth dropped the ball on the transfer. But a replay review showed that Cronenworth never had control of the ball. The call was overturned, and the Mariners had the bases loaded with one out.
Cal Raleigh gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead with a single into right field, giving him his 92nd RBI of the season.
After Randy Arozarena was rung up on a called third strike, Luke Raley made sure the scoring opportunity wasn’t wasted despite falling behind 1-2. Raley worked the count full and fouling off a tough pitch before singling to right field to score two more runs for a 3-0 lead.
The Mariners added two more runs in the sixth on J.P. Crawford’s two-run double to right field.