Bryan Woo vs. Hunter Brown: Who Came on Top in Houston Starter Showdown?
In one of the most critical matchups of the season on Friday, the Mariners faced the Astros in a series that will likely decide who wins the AL West. Setting the tone in the first game was going to be crucial, and it was a prime pitching matchup between two of the best pitchers in the Junior Circuit.
Both Woo and Brown were already named All-Stars earlier in the 2025 season, and one glance at their numbers immediately tells you why. Woo entered Friday’s matchup with a 14-7 record and a 3.02 ERA, recording 191 strikeouts while yielding 136 hits, 64 runs, 26 home runs, and 35 walks during his 181 ⅔ innings. On the other side of the ball, Brown had posted a 12-7 record with a 2.27 ERA, recording 192 strikeouts while allowing 122 hits, 49 runs, 15 home runs, and 53 walks in a total of 174 ⅓ innings for Houston.
It was a matchup that everyone was looking towards to see which team could hold their own in the bright lights. With a lot of stakes on the line, which pitcher had the better game?
Bryan Woo Keeps Astros Scoreless, Exits Game Early with Pec Tightness
As if Woo hadn’t been razor-sharp all year, he certainly was that and more on Friday night, dealing nasty stuff in a game of significant importance. In five efficient innings, Bryan Woo kept the Astros scoreless, logging 67 pitches and posting seven strikeouts while allowing just one walk and one hit while not letting any Astro cross home plate. Batter after batter went up against Woo and sought to get something going to him, but all to no avail, and Woo finished with his 15th win of the season.
Woo struck out seven during his five innings of work and only walked one, a fourth inning free pass during Houston’s only real threat in Friday’s ballgame. Woo had shown a little bit more shakiness than usual against Carlos Correa, giving up a double, and he gave up a walk to Isaac Paredes to put the tying run aboard, but he quickly settled back in and got through the inning without any issues.
Unfortunately, however, Woo’s game was cut short by pectoral tightness of indeterminate severity. It started near the end of the fifth inning, and as he went out for the sixth, he realized that continuing his outing would be a bad idea. An MRI is scheduled for Woo, and until those results come back, Seattle will be watching and waiting to see his status.
Hunter Brown Solid, Not Quite Enough
Brown has been incredible all year for the Astros, but he struggled just enough on Friday against the Mariners to pick up his eighth loss of the season. Although he mixed up all six of his pitches, the M’s found ways to get some production off the Astros’ ace in the form of two big swings.
During his 99-pitch outing on Friday, Brown struck out nine and walked two while allowing five hits and two runs. Two of those hits, however, were game-changing solo home runs by the Mariners. The first blast was from Julio Rodríguez in the top of the first inning, a golf shot that went out to left field, while the second was an Eugenio Suárez moonshot in the top of the fourth.
Besides those two home runs, however, the Houston hurler was dealing consistently across six innings. None of Seattle’s other baserunners came around to score, as Brown got outs in tough moment after tough moment, relying heavily on his mostly unhittable curveball. Indeed, Seattle’s only hit on the hook was Suárez’ home run.
Comparing Both Pitcher’s Performances
While both starters pitched good games, Woo had much better topline results than Brown, giving up zero runs on one hit compared to two runs on five hits. And in the end, it was Seattle’s hurler that ended up with a win and Houston’s ace that ended up with a loss, as the Mariners took a 4-0 win in the opening game of three against the Astros.
Brown had nine strikeouts compared to Woo’s seven, but those numbers end up being similar when you control for the fact that Brown pitched an extra inning compared to Woo. The Seattle starter pounded the zone far more frequently, throwing 67.2 percent of his pitches for strikes compared to Brown’s 59.6 percent in the same category. While pitchers can certainly be burned for throwing too many strikes, Woo’s were quality deliveries that painted the edges of the zone.
The biggest news, however, will come from Woo’s MRI. If there’s nothing serious going on there, the M’s will breathe a big sigh of relief—but if it’s a serious issue, Seattle’s victory over Houston (and Woo’s win over Brown) may yet prove to be pyrrhic.
