The Seattle Mariners (36–33) and Baltimore Orioles (32–37) settle a four-game series Thursday night at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, exclusively on ESPN at 7:05 p.m. ET. Bryan Woo (5–4, 3.74 ERA) gets the ball for Seattle against Kyle Bradish (3–7, 3.89 ERA) — and the records on both lines undersell what this matchup is. It’s our game of the day on a Thursday full of getaway games, series finales, and a first real look at the wild card math with roughly 50 days until the trade deadline.
The Pitching Matchup
Woo was an All-Star last season and finished fifth in AL Cy Young voting for a Mariners team that came within one win of the franchise’s first World Series. He stumbled in Detroit to open June — five runs over 6 1/3 innings — but over the five starts before that he went 4–1 with a 1.82 ERA, riding one of the most valuable four-seam fastballs in baseball.
Seattle Mariners’ Bryan Woo smiles in the dugout during a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo throws against the Detroit Tigers during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, June 5, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Bradish finished fourth in AL Cy Young voting in 2023, then lost most of two seasons to Tommy John surgery. The stuff is back: over his final five starts of May he posted a 1.72 ERA while averaging more than six innings, piling up whiffs with the slider and curveball. “That’s the Bradish we know,” catcher Samuel Basallo said after the May 31 outing. Like Woo, he opened June with a clunker — four innings, five runs in Toronto. Both arms are looking for the bounce-back, in the same game, with a series on the line.
Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Kyle Bradish (38) celebrates with catcher Adley Rutschman, left, after retiring the side during the third inning of a baseball game, Monday, May 25, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
One matchup line worth circling: Randy Arozarena is 5-for-18 with two home runs off Bradish. Taylor Ward is 0-for-13 against Woo.
Seattle Mariners Ryan Bliss, left, and Seattle Mariners left fielder Randy Arozarena (56) talk before a baseball game, Monday, June 8, 2026 in Baltimore.(AP Photo/Gail Burton)
Seattle Mariners left fielder Randy Arozarena (56) and Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez (44) celebrate his two run home run against the Baltimore Orioles In the ninth inning baseball game, Tuesday, June 9, 2026 in Baltimore.(AP Photo/Gail Burton)
How the Series Got Here
Seattle took the opener 6–3 Monday, then stole Tuesday’s game 6–5 in 10 innings on Arozarena’s two-run homer in extras — his third hit and third RBI of the night after Mitch Garver’s three-run shot had built the early lead. Baltimore answered emphatically Wednesday: Brandon Young threw seven shutout innings, Pete Alonso homered, and Jackson Holliday’s grand slam blew it open in a 7–2 win. Thursday is for the series — Seattle’s shot at taking three of four on the road, Baltimore’s shot at a split that would extend a quietly decent stretch at home.
International Spotlight
Woo’s story is a Bay Area story with roots in China. Born in Oakland, the Cal Poly product is Chinese American on his father’s side — his grandparents immigrated to the San Francisco Bay Area as teenagers, and Woo has talked about visiting their home villages in high school as the experience that opened his eyes to that history. In Seattle he shares a clubhouse orbit with Ichiro Suzuki, still a fixture around the organization, and has spoken about embracing the role-model weight of being a prominent Asian American pitcher: taking real pride, in his words, in something he struggled with growing up.
Around him, the Mariners sent one of the largest contingents in baseball to the 2026 World Baseball Classic this spring — 18 players across the organization, including Julio Rodríguez (Dominican Republic), Arozarena and Andrés Muñoz (Mexico), Josh Naylor (Canada), Dominic Canzone and Miles Mastrobuoni (Italy), Eduard Bazardo (Venezuela), and Cal Raleigh and Gabe Speier (United States). Rob Refsnyder, born in Seoul, deepens the roster’s international footprint.
Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez (44) signs autographs for fans before the Baltimore Orioles and Seattle Mariners play in a baseball game, Tuesday, June 9, 2026 in Baltimore.(AP Photo/Gail Burton)
Baltimore Orioles’ Samuel Basallo, left, celebrates after hitting a single during the second inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers, Sunday, May 24, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Baltimore’s side of the ledger runs through Gunnar Henderson, who started at shortstop for the Team USA squad that fell to Venezuela in March’s final, and Tyler O’Neill, who suited up for Canada. Rico Garcia and Jose Espada pitched for Puerto Rico; Dean Kremer, on the 60-day injured list, has long been the face of Team Israel pitching. And Samuel Basallo, the 21-year-old Dominican catcher, is the kind of international pipeline product this beat exists to track — already driving in runs in the middle of a big-league lineup at an age when most catchers are in A-ball.
Around the Slate
It’s a getaway Thursday: five day games, including the Cardinals going for a sweep of the Mets at 1:10 p.m. behind Hunter Dobbins against Christian Scott, and Kumar Rocker taking on Michael Wacha in Kansas City. At night, the Dodgers send Justin Wrobleski (7–2, 2.62) to Pittsburgh, and the Braves — fresh off Chris Sale’s hard-luck 2–1 loss to Davis Martin — continue in Chicago with Martín Pérez against a TBD arm for the White Sox.
The wild card picture is starting to take shape, and it explains Thursday’s stakes: the Mariners lead the AL West, but the Orioles — for all the frustration of their season — sit just two games out of the final American League wild card spot. Fifty days from the deadline, Baltimore’s next few weeks decide whether this front office buys, sells, or holds.
How To Watch
Time: 7:05 p.m. ET
Venue: Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore
TV: ESPN / ESPN App (national, exclusive)
Radio: 98 Rock 97.9 FM, WBAL 1090 AM (Baltimore) · Seattle Sports 710 AM (Seattle)
First pitch, 7:05. Bryan Woo gets the ball.
