King Pyrrhus of Epirus defeated the Romans in a battle in 279 B.C., but he knew his army couldn’t handle another, famously saying, “If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined.”
Thus the term Pyrrhic victory, something the Seattle Mariners felt too closely on Friday night.
The Mariners entered the night tied atop the AL West with the Astros, who they began a series with in Houston.
Bryan Woo was on the mound for Seattle, and he was brilliant for five innings.
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But during his warmups before the sixth inning, Woo left the mound and didn’t return due to injury.
It wasn’t immediately clear what was wrong, other than the obvious that Woo had left the game.
Seattle went on to win, and now holds a 1.0-game lead in the division.
But if they’ve lost Woo, that might not matter.
After the game, manager Dan Wilson told reporters that Woo had pectoral tightness and would likely get an MRI on Saturday.
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The Mariners’ starting pitching depth is one of the main reasons they’re a genuine World Series contender. And Woo has been the most consistent of the bunch, pretty much always going 6.0 innings with great command and run prevention.
Now, it all comes into question.
Fingers will be crossed in hopes of a good outcome, and the rest of the Mariners’ pitchers will have to step up in the meantime.
Seattle’s season has been special, including this climb to get to the top of the division. Hopefully it didn’t cost them Woo.
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