Mariners starter Bryan Woo leaves in 5th inning with arm tightness but expected to make next start

SEATTLE (AP) — Mariners’ starter Bryan Woo left Friday’s game with one out in the fifth inning for precautionary reasons after experiencing tightness in his arm, but is expected to make his next turn in the rotation for Seattle.

Making his first start of the year after being slowed by a sore elbow during spring training, Woo allowed just one hit through the first four innings only to leave the game after getting Oakland's Tyler Soderstrom to foul out behind third base to open the fifth.

Manager Scott Servais said after Seattle's 8-1 victory over Oakland that he expects Woo to make his next start.

“He was just a little tight. He wasn't loose and there is no point in pushing it right now,” Servais said. “I think he's going to be fine.”

Catcher Cal Raleigh immediately went to the mound and was quickly joined by pitching coach Pete Woodworth and Servais. Woo eventually walked off the mound alongside athletic trainer Kyle Torgerson and was replaced by Trent Thornton.

Servais said Woo started to tighten up due to a long bottom of the fourth inning when Seattle scored five runs and it was obvious something was off when he threw the first two pitches of the fifth.

“It was just sitting for a long time. It was a long inning and you sit for that long, especially coming back from injuries it gets kind of cold and it's kind of hard to get it going again,” Woo said.

Woo was expected to be the No. 5 starter in Seattle’s rotation entering the season before the elbow soreness emerged in spring training. Woo didn’t allow an earned run in 11 1/3 innings over three rehab outings with Triple-A Tacoma.

Last season, Woo was 4-5 with a 4.21 ERA in 18 starts with the Mariners.

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