ALCS: Here’s the Mariners’ plan for Bryan Woo vs. Blue Jays

TORONTO — Waiting for their scheduled early batting practice, several Blue Jays hitters were taking practice swings in front of the home dugout just as Mariners ace Bryan Woo was wrapping up his live pitching session off the Rogers Centre mound early Monday afternoon.

Woo threw his final pitch to teammate Leo Rivas and playfully motioned to Toronto’s Isiah Kiner-Falefa to step into the batter’s box next.

It was a lighthearted moment to wrap up an encouraging step forward for Woo, who remains on track to make his postseason debut in this American League Championship Series.

The Mariners are targeting a Game 5 start for Woo on Friday back in Seattle, multiple sources with knowledge of the club’s plans told The Seattle Times.

AL championship series Mariners 1, Blue Jays 0

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Woo threw about 25 pitches Monday in four plate appearances against Rivas, Miles Mastrobuoni and Harry Ford on Monday.

Woo hasn’t pitched full-go since exiting his Sept. 19 in Houston with right pectoral inflammation, and he won’t be built up to full strength by the start of the Game 5.

The tentative plan is for him to throw roughly 50 pitches Friday. Those plans will come into clearer focus over the next couple days, depending on how Woo responds physically.

The Mariners return home for Games 3 through 5 back in Seattle, Wednesday through Friday.

George Kirby has been announced as the Game 3 starter and Luis Castillo will start Game 4.

That lines up Woo neatly for Game 5.

In an interview Monday, Woo sounded as upbeat as he has in several weeks.

“It’s a huge positive,” he said. “… It’s as good as it could have been.”

A first-time All-Star this summer, Woo put together a dominant season, posting career highs across the board and emerging as the staff ace when the Mariners needed him most, with Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Bryce Miller all missing significant time with arm injuries.

By design, the Mariners have been conservative with their treatment of Woo, prioritizing the 25-year-old’s long-term health over the team’s short-term goals in the playoffs.

Woo is a pitcher the Mariners envision as a staff anchor for the next four years. (He doesn’t reach free agency until after 2029.)

Woo had Tommy John surgery in April 2021, two months before the Mariners drafted him in the sixth round out of Cal Poly. He missed long stretches early in 2024 with right elbow inflammation and then a hamstring strain.

Woo was in full uniform Monday for his first “live” outing — wearing the same Northwest green look the Mariners wore their Game 1 victory Sunday night — and went through the usual pregame warmup routine he would before a typical start.

“I tried to make it as gamelike as possible,” he said. “It was good. I was able to … treat it like real at-bats, mix everything and kind of sequence and everything like I wanted to. So, yeah, all good.”

Woo was thrilled for Miller, his close friend, who pitched one of the best games in Mariners postseason history on Sunday, allowing just two hits and one run over six innings against the Blue Jays.

“Obviously, frustrating for him this year, I think, (his) first time dealing with injuries in that way,” Woo said. “Everyone’s dealt with stuff here and there, but to miss time and battle back through a year is never fun. … I don’t think people realize how hard it is to go back and forth when you’re hurt, of getting feel, of getting in that rhythm (when) you miss starts, you miss time. It’s hard to get that rhythm.

“Once he found that toward the end of the year, and then kind of carried into the postseason, I think there’s no doubt that that he had this capability. It’s awesome for him … and he wants to keep going, too.”

Of course, Woo acknowledged, “it sucks” for him being injured this time of the year.

“But,” he added, “you’ve still have to make a decision. You can pout and be mad or go be the best teammate that you can be. You still have a job to do … and you just try to do that as best you can.”