September 27, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Brian Wu (22) during the first inning against the Oakland Athletics at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images Bryan Woo grew up in Alameda, Calif., so he's especially interested when the Oakland Athletics play their final game at the Coliseum on Thursday before a stop in Sacramento Three years later, heading to a planned new home in Las Vegas.
“I had a lot of friends there (Thursday) and saw a lot of stuff on social media,” the Seattle Mariners right-hander said. “It was cool to see so many people show up (46,889). I've said it before, but it's unfortunate what happened.
“For me personally, there are a lot of memories there. I know it's the same for countless other people, people who grew up enjoying baseball there, learned baseball there. I'm just so happy that they were able to win and have a positive outcome. Mind you, I think it means a lot to the city and the fans.
Wu wasn't that nostalgic on Friday, pitching five scoreless innings and striking out eight in a 2-0 win over Oakland.
The season-ending three-game series between the American League West rivals continues Saturday night in Seattle.
Woo and relievers Gabe Speyer, Gregory Santos, Tyler Saucedo and Troy Taylor combined for five hits and 14 strikeouts.
Wu improved to 3-0 with a 0.57 ERA in six career starts against the Athletics.
“We couldn't figure him out. Going into next season, we're going to have to make adjustments with this kid,” A's manager Mark Cortese said. “He had our number again tonight, throwing eight punches.”
Mitch Garver and Carl Rowley hit solo home runs for the Mariners on Friday. Rowley's homer was his 32nd of the season and he had 97 RBIs, leading the team in both categories by a wide margin.
Even though Seattle (83-77) was eliminated from the playoffs on Thursday, 41,429 spectators attended the final series opener.
“These last three games, you know, I don't think anything has changed that much,” Mariners head coach Dan Wilson said. “Honestly, I think our focus is winning these three games. They're just as important as any other. There's no playoff carrot at the end. But that's what we're here for. We want to win.”
The Mariners plan to start right-hander Emerson Hancock (4-4, 4.72 ERA) on Saturday. Hancock pitched as recently as Saturday, allowing two runs and five hits in five innings in an 8-4 win over the Texas Rangers.
Hancock has never faced the Athletics, who are scheduled to take right-hander Joey Estes (7-9, 4.99) to the mound on Saturday.
Estes' first two major league wins came against the Mariners this season. Estes, who made his major league debut last September against the Seattle Mariners, is 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA in four career starts against the Mariners.
He notched his first victory in an 8-1 victory over them in Seattle on May 11, allowing just two hits and one run in five innings. Estes was even better in a game in Oakland on June 5, holding the Mariners to one hit in 6 1/3 innings in a 2-1 win.
On September 5, he lost four games to the Seattle SuperSonics at home, 6–4, when he allowed four runs on six hits in four innings.
The loss to Seattle led to an inconsistent final month for Estes. He lost his last two starts, allowing 11 runs on 16 hits in five innings. That included his final start at the Coliseum on Sunday before the Athletics (69-91) moved on, a 7-4 victory over the New York Yankees.
–Scene-level media