Oakland-born Bryan Woo shuts A’s down in hometown

The hometown team got beat by the hometown kid.

Seattle Mariners starter Bryan Woo was born in Oakland in 2000 Tonight, the now-MLB-rookie threw five innings of three-hit ball to blank the Oakland A’s less than 4 miles from his high school in Alameda, securing his team a critical 5-0 win in the midst of a tight playoff race. On the season, Woo has now thrown 80 ²⁄₃ major league innings with a strong 3.90 ERA and figures to be a permanent fixture in the Mariners’ rotation for years to come.

On the mound for the A’s, JP Sears had a much more mediocre night. Prior to tonight, the southpaw completely had Seattle’s number, holding them to an 0.67 ERA over 27 career innings. But the M’s finally got him back. Though he technically outlasted Woo — by ²⁄₃ innings — Sears gave up four more runs along the way and dug Oakland into a hole they never got out of. Half of those runs came off a deep two-run blast allowed to rookie utilityman Jose Caballero.

No one in the A’s lineup exhibited that kind of power tonight, but they did work an impressive six walks. Kyle Muller also did a nice job cleaning up the rest of the game, allowing just a single run over the final 3 ¹⁄₃ innings. It’s nothing eye-popping, but every Muller outing that doesn’t end in catastrophe at this point is welcomed.

The A’s are now in the midst of a five-game losing streak, one of many they’ve encountered this season. But this team has a lot more talent and fortitude than the one that laid down for the whole first half of the season. They’ll have a solid chance to halt their slide tomorrow in game two of the series with both of the team’s rotation leaders, Paul Blackburn and Luis Castillo, facing off.