SEATTLE -- Bryce Miller will look to replicate his success from earlier in this American League Championship Series, as the right-hander was tabbed as Seattle’s Game 5 starter for Friday afternoon against Toronto at T-Mobile Park. And after the Mariners’ 8-2 loss in Game 4 that evened this best-of-seven round, the pressure will be high for him to do so.
Teams to win Games 1-2 but then lose Games 3-4 in any best-of-seven postseason series have gone on to win that series 13 of 23 times (56.5%). However, in series with the current 2-3-2 format that have been tied after Game 4, the team playing Game 5 at home has taken the series 26 of 60 times (43.3%).
“We knew it wasn't going to be easy,” Cal Raleigh said. “So it's just about keeping a level head and understanding don't get too high, don't get too low and understanding that now it's a best-of-three.”
With much less wiggle room, it’s likely that Miller will have a short leash -- especially considering that Bryan Woo is expected to be used in relief for the remainder of this round, and that Mariners manager Dan Wilson relieved Luis Castillo with one out in the third in Game 4.
“We did use bullpen guys tonight, but they were very well rested again,” Wilson said, as most of the Mariners’ leverage arms weren’t used in Games 2 or 3. “So I think that we're still in good shape in terms of our bullpen, and also we have Bryan down there as well, and we'll utilize him when the time is right.”
Woo was seen getting loose during the third inning on Thursday but ultimately did not make an appearance, perhaps a byproduct of the game getting out of hand sooner than the Mariners would’ve liked to deploy him.
Woo also went to the bullpen in the third in Seattle’s 13-4 loss in Game 3, though that move was to get him acclimated to the surroundings. He has not pitched in relief over his 70 career big league appearances -- though he did throw a perfect third inning in the All-Star Game in Atlanta.
Other than that, Woo most recently pitched in relief during his college days at Cal Poly, with 25 of his 31 career outings there coming out of the bullpen from 2019-21.
Part of the decision was also related to Woo being sidelined since exiting a Sept. 19 start with pectoral inflammation, which means his workload will be limited. Woo most recently threw a roughly 25-pitch live batting practice on Monday in Toronto, his first time facing swinging hitters since the issue surfaced.
“Obviously, that’s something we considered and talked about,” Wilson said. “Getting him in a game will also allow us to just kind of see how he is and where he's at. That's important, too. We kind of have to wait and see how these games develop and what happens. Again, we're excited to find a spot for him and get him out there.”
There’s obviously a transitional challenge that Woo will face whenever he’s deployed and having to get hot much quicker than over an extended pregame routine -- which was evident as he was getting loose on Thursday. The Mariners turned to both Logan Gilbert and Castillo in extras during their 15-inning marathon win in Game 5 of the AL Division Series vs. Detroit.
“This is the time of year where you ask people to do things that they're not as comfortable doing or they haven't done as much,” Wilson said. “But he's got a wealth of people that will help him: ‘The Rock,’ Gilbert did it recently, they can help. So I think he'll be in good shape, and again I think he's excited to get back out there.”
Woo was the Mariners' best starter in the regular season, going 15-7 with a 2.94 ERA in 30 starts. He's yet to pitch in the postseason during his three-year MLB career.
As for Miller, he’ll be on regular rest this time, after starting on short rest in a gritty effort in Seattle’s 3-1 win in Game 1.
Miller overcame a leadoff homer to George Springer on his very first pitch, followed by a 12-pitch walk to Nathan Lukes, then held the Blue Jays 1-for-19 the rest of the way while clearing six innings. Miller, who was not on the Mariners’ 2022 playoff team, has made two starts this October, both on the road.
This will also be his first time facing the same team in a five-day span since he was in the Minors, where a standard head-to-head series lasts a full week of six games.
"I don't want to say too much on the game plan or anything,” Miller said. “But I’ve just got to study how I threw the other day and what works and what doesn't work and go out and attack.”
Separately, Wilson made a fairly notable lineup tweak ahead of Game 4, opting for Dominic Canzone in right field (over Victor Robles), Jorge Polanco at designated hitter (where Canzone had been starting vs. righties) and switch-hitter Leo Rivas at second base (where Polanco had been playing). Polanco remained at cleanup, Canzone at No. 7 and Rivas was added at No. 9, with J.P. Crawford moving up a spot to No. 8.
Wilson said that the decision on Robles, who’s 3-for-26 (.115) in these playoffs, was not related to health, after he crashed into the wall in foul territory on a catch attempt in Game 3.
Rivas, meanwhile, is 1-for-7 in October, but his lone knock was a big one -- tying ALDS Game 5 in the seventh inning while pinch-hitting for Canzone. Without that hit, that marathon would not have reached extras and the Mariners would’ve been eliminated.
However, Rivas was picked off by Max Scherzer for the second out in the third on Thursday, one of two critical outs on the basepaths -- the other coming when Josh Naylor was cut down attempting to go first-to-third on an RBI single from Eugenio Suárez in the sixth. Overall, the Mariners finished with as many hits as walks (five).
“I try not to regret really anything while playing,” said Naylor, who hit a second-inning solo homer off Scherzer. “I'm going to take my shot and go to bed content because I gave it my all. Next time, maybe I’ll make a different decision, but in that moment, I wanted to take that chance.”
Other than a sweep in the regular season’s final series vs. the Dodgers after they’d locked up the AL West and were resting players, the Mariners haven’t lost three in a row at home since June 3-5 vs. Baltimore. They only have one more guaranteed game at T-Mobile Park in 2025, on Friday, and they’ll need to rebound mightily -- and quickly.