Bryan Woo ended his afternoon addressing the Mariners fans left in the stands and made a statement for them: "Just stay with us, man. Everything you guys, we feel tenfold."
He earned the right to make that ask. Seattle's 2-0 win over the Athletics moved the club to 67-77 and prevented a four-game sweep at T-Mobile Park. It definitely did not rescue the season, but Woo gave a frustrated crowd the best performance of his career.
Woo retired the first nine hitters he faced. Henry Bolte opened the fourth with Oakland's only hit, Donovan Walton drew the only two walks, and everybody else went back to take a seat in the dugout to muddle over how to solve Woo. He finished with eight innings, one hit, and nine strikeouts. Out of the 102 pitches he threw, 73 of them were for strikes.
The eighth inning was probably the most meaningful. Walton walked with one out, Carlos Vargas and Andrs Muoz were warming up, and Dan Wilson decided to stick with his guy instead of making a move.
Woo struck out Alika Williams and retired Brian Serven on a fly ball, finishing the longest outing of his career. Muoz handled the ninth, and Woo walked off to a standing ovation from the same crowd that casted boo birds the night before.
That crowd wasn't the problem. They shouldn't be in this moment. Mariners fans have stayed through decades of delays, collapses and promises about brighter days in the future. Woo understands that. Even after the career-best performance you could see in his body language that he was wearing the effects of what has been a pretty gloomy campaign. His message met the frustration head on instead of lecturing people for feeling it. It was a brilliant and mindful move to follow a brilliant performance.
It reminds us that Woo remains one of the few uncomplicated reasons to believe in this roster. When Seattle needed somebody to stop the embarrassment, he took the ball and did it himself.
The details of Brendan Donovan's concussion recovery should end any conversation about squeezing him back into the lineup. Donovan has played in only 39 of the M's 144 games during his first season with the club. Two groin-related IL stints stole most of his year before a baseball struck him in the head during cage work on Aug. 22. He's still experiencing dizziness and nausea when baseball activities force him to track and process movement. At times, taking consecutive ground balls still becomes too much.
Donovan says he wants to play again this season. He has repeatedly had the game taken away from him during a miserable year, and competitive players are wired to push for one more chance.
Full clearance remains the only acceptable return. At this point in the season, returning may not offer anything unless he feels completely normal and can make a real impact down the stretch.
The Mariners also need to own the safety lesson. Donovan confirmed he wasn't wearing a helmet when he was hit. To be fair, that's a completely normal thing. However, hitters are now wearing helmets for overhand throws in the cage. Honestly, that rule was probably overdue, and it needs to become a permanent standard.
Seattle's playoff hopes are nearly gone. Donovan's long-term health matters far more than squeezing a few September games out of him. Once the Mariners are eliminated, shutting him down would be the sensible move.
For a lighter story from around the league, Elly De La Cruz had one of the strangest four-RBI games we're ever going to see. An injured bird wandered onto the infield during Cincinnati 's game against Milwaukee . After several people struggled to remove it, De La Cruz came out of the dugout, picked it up with his batting gloves and carried it off the field.
He followed that by launching his 23rd home run of the season, a two-run shot in the fourth inning. De La Cruz later delivered a go-ahead two-run double, finishing with four RBIs in the Reds ' 12-8 win.
Honestly, we don't get many bird stories in baseball. De La Cruz's rescue felt like the sport finally balancing the ledger, 25 years after Randy Johnson accidentally killed one with a fastball during a 2001 spring training game.
De La Cruz helped a bird, homered and drove in the deciding runs. It was easily one of the best moments from Sunday's slate.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/mariners/onsi as Mariners News & Notes: Bryan Woo Addresses Fans, Brendan Donovan's Update, Elly De La Cruz's Bird Rescue .
