Biggest fear this postseason

[auroraave]

Okay, to be fair, Detroit pitched well, in concert with Seattle batters watching fastballs down the middle go by while swinging at unhittable change up after change up, trying for the HR instead of trusting in base hits. Not Seattle's best day at the park - and they managed to grind out a win. They will be better from this - it's exactly the type of win they needed. The team is loaded - they just need the mental fortitude - now they are mentally tougher - which they will need - Toronto is no joke either.

Anyone have a status on Woo?

[Donn Beach]

In what appeared to be an encouraging step forward, Woo threw about 30 pitches off the mound in the T-Mobile bullpen on Friday afternoon, three hours before the start of ALDS Game 5.

For most of his bullpen session, Woo appeared to be throwing at roughly 75% effort. He ramped up his intensity for his last few pitches — throwing at what appeared to be closer to 100% effort.

He was laughing and joking around with teammates in the bullpen after finishing his throws.

[Donn Beach]

actually here

. The club’s hard-worked pitching staff will likely be getting some major reinforcements, as M’s president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto told reporters (including the Seattle Times’ Adam Jude) that right-hander Bryan Woo is expected to added to the Mariners’ roster for the next round.

Woo probably won’t pitch until closer to the midpoint of the series, Dipoto said. This means Woo is being lined up for a start when the ALCS shifts to Seattle for Games 3-4 and (if necessary) 5. It also leaves open the question of who exactly will be starting for the Mariners in the first two games in Toronto, as the M’s used starters Logan Gilbert and Luis Castillo out of the bullpen during last night’s 15-inning marathon. Gilbert threw 34 pitches over two innings of relief, and Castillo threw 15 pitches over 1 1/3 frames.

Dipoto told Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports 710 radio last night that “probably Bryce [Miller] and friends” would be the plan for Game 1, “but for a couple of days we may have to be creative…simply because so many guys had to pitch in today.” Miller would be working on three days’ rest if he started Game 1, so as Dipoto implied, the bullpen may be leaned on again in what would probably be a limited start for the righty. Castillo is probably the favorite to go in Game 2 with Gilbert’s availability also a question, and in theory, this could line up Gilbert for Game 3, George Kirby in Game 4, and Woo in Game if the M’s chose to deploy their full rotation. This assumes that Woo will be used in a normal starting capacity, and holding him off until the middle of the series would give the right-hander more time to fully ramp up

[HawkandMariner88]

Everybody threw last night. As far as I'm concerned everyone is available to pitch game 1.

[Hy Feiber]

But why pitch to Carpenter at all. He had already hit FOUR bombs off Kirby in 10 ABs and 1st base was open. Go Huskies Go Hawks!!!

By Adam Jude
Seattle Times staff reporter
One of Dan Wilson’s great strengths is his unwavering belief in his players.

It’s genuine, and it’s consistent. Players can feel it, and they’ve often talked about that trust, that confidence, that they’ve gotten from Wilson throughout his first full season as the Mariners’ manager.

That trust, that belief, came to the fore at the tipping point in the Mariners’ 3-2 extra-innings loss to Detroit in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday night.

George Kirby, given the nod to start Game 1, put together a solid performance against a Tigers team that has historically given him troubles, and he was especially dominant early in front of 47,290 at T-Mobile Park.

Kerry Carpenter, a left-handed slugger, was the one Tigers hitter who had a strong track record against Kirby — and the one hitter in the Detroit lineup the Mariners couldn’t let beat them.

In the fifth inning, Carpenter beat them.

The Mariners led 1-0, with two outs and a runner on second base. First base was open, and Gabe Speier, one of MLB’s most effective left-handed relievers this season, was warning up the Mariners bullpen.

Speier was hot and ready, he said later.

M’s pitching coach Pete Woodworth made a mound visit, meeting with Kirby and catcher Cal Raleigh before Carpenter stepped to the plate.

In the moment, it was an obvious inflection point in the game.

In hindsight, Wilson’s decision to stick with Kirby proved to be the game’s most significant moment.

Dan Wilson on Mariners' depth ahead of ALDS



“Those are the tough ones, and I thought George was continuing to throw the ball well,” Wilson said.

The wisdom of pulling your starting pitcher with two outs in the fifth inning can be debated. In the regular season, that decision might not be greeted with nearly as much scrutiny.

In this era of playoff baseball, though, it comes under a microscope.

In the playoffs, many managers have a quick hook for their starters. There are several notable examples in this first week of October; the Cubs’ Matt Boyd, for one, was pulled with two outs in the first inning earlier Saturday.

And, of course, it’s always easy to second-guess any decision that backfires.

Allowing Kirby to face Carpenter for a third time Saturday proved costly for the Mariners.

Sign up for Fan Fix
Your dose of local sports news. Delivered Monday through Friday.

Carpenter, after just missing a double down the right-field line on the first pitch, crushed an 97.1-mph fastball from Kirby 409 feet out to right field, a two-run blast that gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead.

Yes, the Mariners came back to tie the score in the sixth inning on Julio Rodríguez’s RBI single, and many more moments loomed large in a game that went 11 innings.

But Kirby-Carpenter matchup had loomed larger in the buildup to Game 1, and the result of that fifth-inning bat are what will haunt the Mariners most afterward.


“Just one pitch. Just one pitch,” Kirby lamented afterward.

It wasn’t a bad pitch — Kirby got his fastball well above the strike zone; Carpenter was still able to get a barrel to it and launch it out to right field for his fifth career home run off Kirby in 11 at-bats.

It was a bad matchup for the Mariners, certainly.

Wilson didn’t offer much explanation afterward when asked about the decision to keep Kirby in the game.

“With Carpenter, you’re trying to keep it down in the zone or trying to get him to chase up in the zone, and he was able to get to one up there and drive it out of the ballpark,” Wilson said.


During the regular season, opposing batters had a .310 batting average and a .929 OPS against Kirby in the third time through the lineup.

This was Wilson’s first time managing a playoff game.

It was the 61st career playoff game for Detroit manager A.J. Hinch, who has a reputation as one of MLB’s most aggressive managers in employing platoons and using pinch-hitters early in games.

He doesn’t often let Carpenter face left-handed pitchers, and Hinch said he “of course” had the right-handed-hitting Jahmai Jones ready to go if Wilson turned to Speier in that spot.

Yeah I brought that up on the other thread, I thought it might have been even more puzzling having Vargas pitch to the left hander with first base open and a righty on deck. I hate to second guess, but damn, its hard to get around Wilson's decisions

Carpenter’s value in that series was overrated, prior to his 4-hit night, he was one for 17.

Their offense is pathetic, the leading average was .259.

Carpenter only drove in 62 runs, he barely hit over .250.

I didn’t realize it was that paltry, I just looked at the stats.

[HawkandMariner88]

Still gotta walk him there with 1st open. Kirby was gonna come out either way. 2x through the lineup is enough, especially in the playoffs.