SAN DIEGO -- Bryan Woo stared blankly into the left-field bleachers after his third pitch on Sunday afternoon, an 0-2 sweeper that Fernando Tatis Jr. extended his barrel at to uncork a pull-side homer. It wasn’t exactly a mistake pitch, but if so, it’d be his last.
Because the rest of the way, the Mariners’ blossoming ace -- who was pushed up one day explicitly for this higher-stakes matchup -- was untouchable.
Woo cleared the seventh inning on just 87 pitches while outdueling Padres ace Michael King and riding the run support of a three-run fourth from the offense, which put together five straight two-out hits in the frame to account for the bulk of its production.
And with a 6-1 victory at Petco Park, the Mariners secured their second sweep of at least three games in 2025 and began one of their longest road trips on a commanding note -- in front of sellout crowds all weekend and against a Padres team that’s been one of MLB’s best.
“You've got to create storylines in your head, kind of finding new motivation and reasons to create an edge when you're going out there,” said Woo, who, had he remained on turn, would’ve pitched on Monday vs. the last-place White Sox instead.
“Before the game, obviously we've won the first two. And you can choose to just be like, 'All right, we won two,’ and you're happy with that. Or you can kind of create something in your head where it's like, 'No, screw it. We're going to go take the third game.'”
Woo is MLB’s only qualified starter to pitch at least six innings in each of his nine outings, a stat that speaks to his evolving durability, as he now leads the Mariners with 57 2/3 frames -- over which he’s carried a stellar 2.65 ERA. The All-Star Game is still two months away, but he’s making a compelling case.
And for a team whose blueprint is rooted in starting pitching -- even with its three most productive pitchers from last season on the injured list -- Seattle advanced to 15-3 when its starter goes at least six innings.
Moreover, across their past five games, Mariners starters have allowed just three earned runs in 30 innings (0.90 ERA), including gritty efforts from Logan Evans and Emerson Hancock to begin this series. Overall, including relievers, Seattle held San Diego to 0-for-21 with runners in scoring position this weekend.
“If you really love competing, you love going into environments like that,” Woo said. “And you love hostile environments. And it means a lot for the team if you can go in and kind of set the tone and show that like, 'Hey, we're here. We mean business.'”
For Woo, who has now surrendered seven of his 17 earned runs in the first inning this season, his ascent has been rooted in many ways with a more pointed mentality as outings progress, as he continues to unveil more emotion -- and confidence.
"He was executing,” Tatis said. “His fastball was alive. He's a really good pitcher, and he just dominated today."
It’s helped that Woo has received consistent run support -- 34 runs total entering play (4.25 per start), and another four on Sunday.
King, who like Woo has also been one of the sport’s better starters in 2025, was the latest high-caliber arm that the Mariners went up against and ended up winning, along with Max Fried, Tarik Skubal, Garrett Crochet, Hunter Brown, Nathan Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom.
And like Woo, King was on cruise control early, holding Seattle hitless with one walk through the third inning, before the Mariners appeared to have a better read on his versatile pitch mix the second time through the lineup.
Randy Arozarena sparked the Mariners’ five straight hits in the fourth with a Statcast-projected 389-foot homer off an inside sweeper. Rowdy Tellez nearly went back-to-back on a double off the wall against a four-seam fastball. Mitch Garver chopped a swinging bunt off a sinker. Leody Taveras ripped a 107 mph RBI ground-rule double off a low sweeper. And Miles Mastrobuoni punched an outside changeup up the middle for an RBI infield single.
“He was able to keep us under control, but we just made those adjustments throughout the game,” Arozarena said through an interpreter.
The Mariners are now off to Chicago for a three-game series vs. the White Sox, then a four-game set at Houston, where George Kirby could return to the rotation. Woo will pitch in that series, too, looking to build on what’s easily been one of the best developments this season for the first-place Mariners.