In a morning media session before the Seattle Mariners held an intrasquad scrimmage Wednesday, manager Dan Wilson said the plan for Bryan Woo was to throw from the bullpen mound Thursday.

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It will be the first time Woo, a first-time All-Star in 2025, has thrown from the mound since coming out of a Sept. 19 win over the Houston Astros with inflammation in his pectoral muscle.

This would seemingly knock Woo out of consideration to start any of the first three games of the Mariners’ upcoming American League Division Series that will begin Saturday at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park against either Cleveland or Detroit, but Wilson remains optimistic Woo will be able to pitch if the series goes longer than three games.

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“It seems like things are going according to plan,” Wilson said, noting Woo has made progress. “We’ll just continue to take it day by day and assess, and I do believe that we are in a good spot with that.”

The 25-year-old Woo had 15 wins with a 2.94 ERA and 0.927 WHIP in 30 starts during the regular season. He set a Mariners record with 25 consecutive starts of at least six innings pitched to begin a season, and his 21 quality starts (a start of at least six innings pitch and no more than three earned runs allowed) tied for fourth in MLB and was one short of the league lead.

Friendly competition

Some fun was had during the six-inning scrimmage Wednesday, with Ichiro – who provided help by playing right field – flashing the Julio Rodríguez “No Fly Zone” crossed-arms gesture after making a catch, and Victor Robles doing the same directly at Rodríguez when he flied out to him.

Ichiro makes the catch and flashes the “No Fly Zone.” pic.twitter.com/OAfPbivd6U

— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) October 1, 2025

Robles also joined in the Salmon Race, which was a part of the scrimmage, much to the delight of the fans in attendance. It was not clear when exactly Robles joined the field racing from right-center field to the bullpen door, but much like his diving catch in Houston, a “flash of pink” passed the four fish just before the finish.

Why did he do it?

“I didn’t want Humpy to win,” Robles said in the clubhouse after.

Humpy, perhaps the favorite racing salmon, has gone winless this season in the race, which is run every home game. As it turns out, Victor is happy to be the villain here. When asked for confirmation of his motivation, he laughed and put up the zero sign.

“Zero wins!” he exclaimed with a laugh.

Notes

• On a more serious note, the Mariners made a great effort to try and simulate a game environment Wednesday, even going so far as to open and close the roof to provide different sun and shadow conditions. They will do it again Thursday, this time with a 5 p.m. start. Tickets for the event are sold out.

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• Dom Canzone was hit on the back of the shoulder by Troy Taylor in Wednesday’s scrimmage and immediately walked into the clubhouse. Canzone was sore after the game, but there was no concern of injury.

• The Mariners have not announced the pitching plans for this weekend and do not have to submit their playoff roster until Saturday morning.

More on the Seattle Mariners

• Times for Mariners’ first two ALDS games announced
• Ichiro suits up for Mariners’ intrasquad scrimmage
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