Bryce Miller to Start Game 5 for Mariners, Woo Available from Bullpen
SEATTLE, Wash. — Bryce Miller, the ALCS Game 1 starter who went six full innings of one-run ball during Seattle’s upset victory on Sunday night in Toronto, will get the ball in Game 5 on Friday. Although there had been some speculation that Bryan Woo might have been a starter for Seattle later in the ALCS, Mariners manager Dan Wilson indicated on Thursday that the team’s ace—still on the mend from a minor pectoral injury in mid-September—would be available out of the bullpen.
“I think that’s the plan here going forward,” Wilson said. “He’s in a good spot, he’s feeling good, and I think at this point, that’s where we’re going to see him, coming out of the ‘pen.”
Miller was able to carve up the Blue Jays on Sunday with a wide rotation of pitches, each dotted at the north or south edges of the plate as he got weak contact inning after inning. Should Toronto counter-adjust to the seemingly resurgent Mariner starter, however, Woo being available for a couple of frames would add a high-end long relief option. Although Woo hasn’t pitched regularly from the bullpen since his college days, Wilson is confident that he can adjust to the new role without too much difficulty.
“This is the time of year where you ask people to do things that they’re not as comfortable doing, or that they haven’t done as much,” Wilson said.
Aside from the risk of re-injury, part of the reason for the Mariners’ continuing caution regarding Woo could be around sustained velocity. His four-seam fastball averaged 95.7 miles per hour in 2025 with a StatCast expected slash line against of .187/.248/.372 (the actual slash line against his fastball was .153/.215/.332), but that expected figure jumped to .226/.241/.473 against his fastballs of 95 miles per hour or less. As happened with Miller following his own injury, a fastball-heavy starter can have an especially rough return to the field if his velocity noticeably declines, something the M’s likely don’t want to bet against too heavily.
The nature of the pressure on Miller, meanwhile, will vary quite a bit depending on the outcome of Game 4. Should Seattle take the victory on Thursday, Miller will have the opportunity to seal a World Series berth in front of his home crowd, whereas a Blue Jays win in Game 4 would give Miller the task of managing a key swing game before two final matches in Toronto.