Seattle's Kirby to face Toronto's Bieber in Game 3 of ALCS with Mariners' Woo close to return

TORONTO (AP) — Mariners right-hander George Kirby is expected to start against Blue Jays righty and former AL Cy Young Award-winner Shane Bieber when the AL Championship Series shifts to Seattle for Game 3 on Wednesday.

Kirby started Game 5 of the Division Series against Detroit last Friday. He struck out six and allowed one run and three hits in five innings. Kirby also started the series opener against the Tigers, giving up two runs and six hits in five innings.

Kirby went 10-8 with a 4.21 ERA in 23 regular season starts this year, his fourth with Seattle. He did not face the Blue Jays.

Mariners manager Dan Wilson said Luis Castillo is expected to start Game 4 on Thursday, adding that Bryan Woo is an option for a potential Game 5 on Friday.

Woo hasn’t pitched since Sept. 19 because of pectoral inflammation, but the 2025 All-Star threw a live batting practice session before Monday’s Game 2 in Toronto.

“I thought it went really well today,” Wilson said. “Looking at different things in terms of his velo, in terms of how he was throwing his secondary stuff, it looked all really pretty solid today. The next sort of checkmark is how he responds to that tomorrow and how he comes back. As we’ve seen, his progression has been pretty steady, pretty on the mark. If he comes back tomorrow feeling better, I think we’re on a good path to seeing him later in the series.”

Woo went 15-7 with a 2.94 ERA and 198 strikeouts across 186 2/3 regular-season innings.

Bieber gave up three runs, two earned, and five hits in 2 2/3 innings in Game 3 of Toronto’s Division Series against the Yankees, a 9-6 loss for the Blue Jays.

The 2020 AL Cy Young winner went 4-2 with a 3.57 ERA in seven starts for Toronto after being acquired in a deadline trade from Cleveland and returning from elbow surgery. He did not face the Mariners this season.

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