Based on how his warm-up went, Bryan Woo was uncertain what kind of outing he was going to have for the Seattle Mariners against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday.
He ended up flirting with perfection.
“I didn’t feel great in catch. I didn’t feel great in the bullpen, just kind of all over the place. And then you get out there and it just clicks,” Woo said.
Photo: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images / USA Today
He took a perfect game into the seventh inning, while Luke Raley had a two-run single as the Mariners beat the Padres 5-2.
J.P. Crawford added a two-run double as Seattle moved within 3.5 games of the first-place Houston Astros in the American League West by splitting a two-game series with the Padres.
Woo (8-2) retired his first 19 batters before Fernando Tatis Jr lined a home run to left field with one out in the seventh. The right-hander’s fastball caught too much of the plate and Tatis was able to keep it fair down the line to end the perfect game, no-hitter and shutout with one swing.
Photo: AP
“It was a good pitch, good swing. Tip your cap,” Woo said.
Until that point, Woo was overpowering. Wearing specially designed shoes that included the image of wrestling star Ric Flair, the second-year pitcher relied on his fastball at the top of the strike zone to overpower the Padres.
Through six innings, Woo struck out four and never went to a three-ball count. The closest San Diego came to a hit was Manny Machado’s line drive that was caught by diving left fielder Randy Arozarena.
Photo: AP
“His arm slot, the ball is jumping. He’s got a nice, compact delivery, has an upshoot heater and the ball was getting to guys,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said.
Woo was pulled in the seventh after giving up a double to Jurickson Profar and walking Jake Cronenworth. Xander Bogaerts hit an RBI single to score Profar, but the Mariners escaped further damage.
Andres Munoz worked the ninth for his 20th save.
“What they do offensively is difficult and I think after about the first and second inning you could tell something special was happening. He had really good stuff,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said of Woo.
In Los Angeles, Gavin Lux singled in the go-ahead run with two outs in the seventh inning as the Dodgers rallied after blowing a 7-3 lead to beat the Chicago Cubs 10-8.
Shohei Ohtani hit his 47th home run and stole his 48th base, while three other Dodgers went deep in the first inning for the National League West leaders, whose magic number to clinch the division dropped to 11 after San Diego lost.
The Dodgers walked 10 batters, including four by starter Bobby Miller.
“It was frustrating again, but it’s baseball. Not everything is going to be clicking at the same time,” third baseman Max Muncy said.
Ohtani moved closer to becoming the first player in MLB history with 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season. He led off with a shot to center, and then walked and stole second in the second.
“Every night I feel like he does something that we haven’t seen,” Muncy said, citing the 190kph exit velocity and 19 degree launch angle on Ohtani’s homer. “I feel sorry for the fan that tried to catch it.”
Elsewhere on Wednesday, it was:
‧ Blue Jays 2, Mets 6
‧ Phillies 3, Rays 2
‧ Pirates 3, Marlins 1
‧ Nationals 5, Braves 1
‧ Tigers 7, Rockies 4
‧ White Sox 4, Guardians 6
‧ Red Sox 5, Orioles 3 (10i)
‧ Diamondbacks 14, Rangers 4
‧ Yankees 4, Royals 3 (11i)
‧ Giants 13, Brewers 2
‧ Twins 6, Angels 4
‧ Cardinals 2, Reds 1
‧ Astros 4, Athletics 5
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