TORONTO -- Bryan Woo joked that his live batting practice at Rogers Centre on Monday afternoon had a Spring Training-type feel under the watchful eyes of the Mariners’ pitching coaches and athletic training staff, as well as media capturing grainy video on their smartphones.
Only the stakes are far greater here in October, with the Mariners’ electric right-hander trying to work his way back from right pectoral inflammation to pitch at some point in this American League Championship Series vs. the Blue Jays.
“It felt good to get back out and be on the mound again,” Woo said. “All positives.”
If Woo bounces back positively from the live BP, the Mariners will turn to him in ALCS Game 5 on Friday, sources with knowledge of the club’s plans told MLB.com. But he’d be on an abbreviated pitch count, likely around 50.
Separately, the Mariners made it official that George Kirby will start Game 3 on Wednesday and Luis Castillo will take Game 4 on Thursday. The club has adamantly avoided pitching either of those two on the road, which sets them up nicely for a return home.
Kirby will be on regular rest after a brilliant 66-pitch outing in ALDS Game 5 opposite Tarik Skubal. And Castillo, who followed Logan Gilbert out of the bullpen in that 15-inning thriller last Friday, will be on an extra day's rest.
“One, having Bryan back is going to be awesome,” Kirby said. “He's been feeling good. And yeah, just to be in front of the home crowd again is honestly huge for us. Everyone gets super excited being back home. The crowd energizes us.”
The Mariners added Woo to their ALCS roster with the hopes that he'd contribute later in the series after leaving him off their 26-man contingent in the AL Division Series vs. Detroit.
And given how they’ve slotted their rotation, they haven’t needed him in the immediate.
Bryce Miller gutted through a gritty performance in Game 1 on short rest. Then Gilbert was tabbed for Game 2 just two days after his first career relief appearance in ALDS Game 5, which in itself was a bold move, but potentially one that could be a knockout blow.
"I think that’s maybe the underrated part of what Bryce did last night,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “No. 1, it set up our bullpen for the game last night. Giving us those six innings was tremendous. But it did kind of give us a little bit of rest, too.”
These first two games were the biggest test of the Mariners’ extreme turnaround after they advanced, as the club will be well-positioned after Tuesday’s off-day.
Woo has had some feelings of FOMO, but he’ll get his chance soon.
“It sucks, but I mean, you still have to make a decision -- you can pout and be mad, or go be the best teammate that you can be,” Woo said. “You still have a job to do. You still have a decision to make. So, yeah, you just try to do that as best you can. All the other stuff -- there's stuff that's in your control, there's stuff that's out of control. Do your best with the stuff that's in your control.”
Woo’s limited pitch count for Friday is expected, given that he’s been sidelined since exiting a Sept. 19 start in Houston with the pectoral issue. If this were the regular season, Woo would be gearing up for a Minor League rehab stint to build volume.
“It's definitely a huge positive,” Woo said. “I think full [live batting practice], obviously, is as close as we can get right at this time, obviously, without doing a rehab assignment or something like that. So, yeah, I think it's as good as it could have been.”
On Monday, Woo threw about 25 pitches at a higher intensity when facing three batters -- Leo Rivas, Harry Ford and Miles Mastrobuoni -- while donning the Mariners’ Northwest Green jersey in full uniform.
It was the first time that Woo faced swinging hitters since his most recent start, as his previous throwing sessions had either been in a bullpen or a brief simulated game on Oct. 2, when Ford and Rivas were not swinging.
“A little bit more game-like, obviously, with them swinging,” Woo said. “I tried to make it, again, as game-like as possible. But yeah, it was good. I was able to mix -- treat it like real at-bats, mix everything, kind of sequence and everything like I wanted to, so yeah, all good.”
To add Woo to their ALCS roster, the Mariners subtracted rookie third baseman Ben Williamson, who was on the ALDS roster for his plus defense and baserunning but ultimately did not play. Because of that, and for Woo’s encouraging trend, it was worth including the 2025 All-Star in case they do need him.