SEATTLE (AP) — Based on how his warmup went, Bryan Woo was uncertain what kind of outing he was going to have.
He ended up flirting with perfection.
“I didn’t feel great in catch. I didn’t feel great in the bullpen, just kind of all over the place. And then you get out there and it just clicks,” the Seattle pitcher said.
Woo took a perfect game into the seventh inning, Luke Raley had a two-run single and the Mariners beat the San Diego Padres 5-2 on Wednesday night.
J.P. Crawford added a two-run double as Seattle moved within 3 1/2 games of first-place Houston in the AL West by splitting a two-game series with the Padres.
Woo (8-2) retired his first 19 batters before Fernando Tatis Jr. lined a home run to left field with one out in the seventh. The right-hander’s fastball caught too much of the plate and Tatis was able to keep it fair down the line to end the perfect game, no-hitter and shutout with one swing.
“It was a good pitch, good swing. Tip your cap,” Woo said.
Until that point, Woo was overpowering. Wearing specially designed shoes that included the image of wrestling star Ric Flair, the second-year pitcher relied on his fastball at the top of the strike zone to overpower the Padres.