Seattle wasted no time getting on the board as Julio Rodríguez homered in the first inning, setting the tone for the night. The Mariners continued to flex their power with Suárez’s 425-foot shot in the fourth, followed by solo homers from Victor Robles in the seventh and Josh Naylor in the eighth. Houston starter Hunter Brown struck out nine over six innings but allowed two earned runs, falling to 12-8 on the season. Brown has now surpassed the 200-strikeout mark, underlining his strikeout prowess despite the defeat.
The bigger storyline for Seattle, however, was Bryan Woo’s unexpected exit after five dominant innings. Woo, who improved to 15-7 with a 2.94 ERA and 198 strikeouts, had thrown just 67 pitches and fanned seven batters, allowing only one hit and one walk. As detailed by Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, Woo signaled discomfort in his right pectoral muscle late in the fifth inning. After a few tentative warmup tosses before the sixth, manager Dan Wilson and trainers visited the mound and immediately pulled him as a precaution. Woo is scheduled for an MRI, and his status for the remainder of the season is uncertain.
“I felt great all game, just felt it at the end,” Woo told reporters, emphasizing that it was the right decision not to risk further injury (Seattle Sports). Manager Wilson echoed the sentiment, calling Woo “a tough cookie” and crediting him for alerting the staff promptly.
The Mariners’ win was their 11th in the last 12 games, pushing their record to 85-69 and giving them a one-game lead over Houston (84-70) with just eight games left in the regular season. The Astros, meanwhile, are now tied with Boston for the final AL wild-card spot, with Cleveland close behind. Seattle also leads the season series 6-5 against Houston, a key tiebreaker with playoff implications.
Looking ahead, the series continues with Houston’s Framber Valdez (12-10, 3.59 ERA) set to face Seattle’s George Kirby (9-7, 4.46 ERA). With the division and wild-card race tightening, every game down the stretch carries significant postseason consequences.
For more detailed stats and play-by-play, visit the official ESPN Mariners vs. Astros box score.