Mustangs in the Pros: Lee and Woo Go Head-to-Head Again
6/25/2025 11:00:00 AM | Baseball
NICK TORRES WALKS OFF GAME IN LIGA MEXICANA DE BEISBOL (5/23)
BRYCE WARRECKER 2 IP, 3 K GAME IN HIGH-A (5/25)
BROOKS LEE FOX SPORTS INTERVIEW (6/9)
BRYAN WOO ALLOWS JUST ONE HIT IN 7 IP VS. RED SOX (6/17)
WOO VS. TWINS AND CAL POLY TEAMMATE BROOKS LEE (6/23)
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Infielder Brooks Lee and pitcher Bryan Woo have become the eighth pair of former Cal Poly baseball players to face each other in a Major League game.
On May 30 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Woo was the starting pitcher for the Seattle Mariners while Lee started the game at second base for the Minnesota Twins.
Lee took a called third strike from Woo in the second inning, drove in a run with a groundout to second base in the fourth frame and singled in the sixth. Woo was not involved in the decision as the Twins rallied for nine runs in the final two innings for a 10-inning 12-6 triumph.
A little more than three weeks later, the two met again. On Monday, this time at Target Field in Minneapolis, Lee singled in both the first and third innings off Woo before popping up to third base in foul territory in the sixth. Woo went on to earn his seventh victory of the year, allowing two runs and six hits in six innings and matching his career high with nine strikeouts.
Lee, who made a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch behind third base in the first inning for the Twins, is now 3-for-6, all singles, with one RBI in his career versus Woo, who is 7-4 on the season with a 3.12 ERA. In 15 starts, Woo has notched 87 strikeouts over 95 1/3 innings.
Hitting just .105 after seven games, Lee has elevated his batting average to .278 by going 61-for-208 (.293) in his last 56 contests. He had a 19-game hitting streak snapped Saturday by Milwaukee but bounced back quickly with four hits versus the Brewers on Sunday and three more hits in the first two games of a four-game series against Seattle this week.
Lee hit .316 (25 of 79) during the hitting streak. The Twins were 4-10 when Lee was called up from Triple-A St. Paul on April 13 and responded by winning 26 of 41 games to move into second place in the American League's Central Division standings. Minnesota, however, has slipped to fourth place over the last two weeks, losing 11 of its last 12 contests.
In addition to Woo and Lee, former Cal Poly pitcher Justin Bruihl also has played in the Majors this season. The Toronto Blue Jays called up the southpaw reliever on June 17 and Bruihl made two relief appearances against Arizona, allowing one hit and no runs over 2 2/3 innings with one walk and four strikeouts before he was returned to Buffalo on June 20.
With the Triple-A Bison, Bruihl is 3-3 with a 3.68 ERA and three saves. In 26 appearances on the mound, all in relief, Bruihl has walked 12 with 38 strikeouts over 29 1/3 innings.
Bruihl, who has pitched in the Major Leagues for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays, has yet to face a former Cal Poly player while on the mound in an MLB game.
Shortstop Ozzie Smith and pitcher Mike Krukow head the list of Mustang matchups in the Majors as they faced each other 55 times from 1978-89. Smith compiled a lifetime .354 average versus Krukow, going 17-for-48 with three doubles, four RBIs and seven walks.
Krukow managed to strike out The Wizard only once and Ozzie grounded into a double play just one time off Krukow.
On July 3, 2010, at Petco Park in San Diego in what is so far the only Major League game in which both starting pitchers once wore a Cal Poly uniform, Bud Norris went 0-for-1 at the plate with a sacrifice bunt and a strikeout. Kevin Correia was 0-for-2 versus Norris, striking out twice.
Both pitchers went seven innings on the mound -- Norris allowing three hits and Correia giving up five. Neither was involved in the decision as the Padres scored the only run of the game in the bottom of the eighth inning on a throwing error. Correia struck out four while Norris notched five strikeouts.
A second pitcher vs. pitcher matchup was scheduled for June 11, 2024, at Seattle's T-Mobile Park as Drew Thorpe was slated to make his MLB debut facing Woo, but Woo was a late scratch due to issues with his right forearm.
In 2013, Logan Schafer of the Milwaukee Brewers grounded out and struck out against Correia, who was pitching for the Minnesota Twins.
And in 2015, Norris induced Schafer to ground out to first base in a Brewers versus Padres game.
Back in 2012, Norris faced Brent Morel in an Astros versus Chicago White Sox spring training game at Houston. Morel went 0-for-2.
In 2021, outfielder Mitch Haniger of the Seattle Mariners faced Texas Rangers pitcher Spencer Howard at T-Mobile Park. Howard pitched three scoreless innings in his second start for Texas. Haniger went 1-for-2 against Howard with an infield single and a groundout.
Haniger also was involved in a Mustang vs. Mustang matchup in 2016. Facing Norris, the 2012 Big West Player of the Year lined a single to left field for the Arizona Diamondbacks against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The seventh matchup between former Cal Poly players in regular-season Major League games occurred on July 10, 2024. It was the first matching two Mustang teammates as both Thorpe and Lee were on the Cal Poly roster for three years (2020-22).
By all accounts, the Mustang vs. Mustang matchup at Guaranteed Rate Field on Chicago's south side ended in a draw. Thorpe of the Chicago White Sox struck out Lee on a check swing ending the third inning. Lee answered with a one-out home run in the sixth inning.
Thorpe is sidelined for the entire 2025 campaign and likely the first half of 2026 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in March. In 2024, his first MLB season, Thorpe was 3-3 with a 5.48 ERA and 25 strikeouts over 44 1/3 innings.
Thirteen other Mustangs are toiling in the minor or independent leagues or outside the country.
BRYCE WARRECKER 2 IP, 3 K GAME IN HIGH-A (5/25)
BROOKS LEE FOX SPORTS INTERVIEW (6/9)
BRYAN WOO ALLOWS JUST ONE HIT IN 7 IP VS. RED SOX (6/17)
WOO VS. TWINS AND CAL POLY TEAMMATE BROOKS LEE (6/23)
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Infielder Brooks Lee and pitcher Bryan Woo have become the eighth pair of former Cal Poly baseball players to face each other in a Major League game.
On May 30 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Woo was the starting pitcher for the Seattle Mariners while Lee started the game at second base for the Minnesota Twins.
Lee took a called third strike from Woo in the second inning, drove in a run with a groundout to second base in the fourth frame and singled in the sixth. Woo was not involved in the decision as the Twins rallied for nine runs in the final two innings for a 10-inning 12-6 triumph.
A little more than three weeks later, the two met again. On Monday, this time at Target Field in Minneapolis, Lee singled in both the first and third innings off Woo before popping up to third base in foul territory in the sixth. Woo went on to earn his seventh victory of the year, allowing two runs and six hits in six innings and matching his career high with nine strikeouts.
Lee, who made a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch behind third base in the first inning for the Twins, is now 3-for-6, all singles, with one RBI in his career versus Woo, who is 7-4 on the season with a 3.12 ERA. In 15 starts, Woo has notched 87 strikeouts over 95 1/3 innings.
Hitting just .105 after seven games, Lee has elevated his batting average to .278 by going 61-for-208 (.293) in his last 56 contests. He had a 19-game hitting streak snapped Saturday by Milwaukee but bounced back quickly with four hits versus the Brewers on Sunday and three more hits in the first two games of a four-game series against Seattle this week.
Lee hit .316 (25 of 79) during the hitting streak. The Twins were 4-10 when Lee was called up from Triple-A St. Paul on April 13 and responded by winning 26 of 41 games to move into second place in the American League's Central Division standings. Minnesota, however, has slipped to fourth place over the last two weeks, losing 11 of its last 12 contests.
In addition to Woo and Lee, former Cal Poly pitcher Justin Bruihl also has played in the Majors this season. The Toronto Blue Jays called up the southpaw reliever on June 17 and Bruihl made two relief appearances against Arizona, allowing one hit and no runs over 2 2/3 innings with one walk and four strikeouts before he was returned to Buffalo on June 20.
With the Triple-A Bison, Bruihl is 3-3 with a 3.68 ERA and three saves. In 26 appearances on the mound, all in relief, Bruihl has walked 12 with 38 strikeouts over 29 1/3 innings.
Bruihl, who has pitched in the Major Leagues for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays, has yet to face a former Cal Poly player while on the mound in an MLB game.
Shortstop Ozzie Smith and pitcher Mike Krukow head the list of Mustang matchups in the Majors as they faced each other 55 times from 1978-89. Smith compiled a lifetime .354 average versus Krukow, going 17-for-48 with three doubles, four RBIs and seven walks.
Krukow managed to strike out The Wizard only once and Ozzie grounded into a double play just one time off Krukow.
On July 3, 2010, at Petco Park in San Diego in what is so far the only Major League game in which both starting pitchers once wore a Cal Poly uniform, Bud Norris went 0-for-1 at the plate with a sacrifice bunt and a strikeout. Kevin Correia was 0-for-2 versus Norris, striking out twice.
Both pitchers went seven innings on the mound -- Norris allowing three hits and Correia giving up five. Neither was involved in the decision as the Padres scored the only run of the game in the bottom of the eighth inning on a throwing error. Correia struck out four while Norris notched five strikeouts.
A second pitcher vs. pitcher matchup was scheduled for June 11, 2024, at Seattle's T-Mobile Park as Drew Thorpe was slated to make his MLB debut facing Woo, but Woo was a late scratch due to issues with his right forearm.
In 2013, Logan Schafer of the Milwaukee Brewers grounded out and struck out against Correia, who was pitching for the Minnesota Twins.
And in 2015, Norris induced Schafer to ground out to first base in a Brewers versus Padres game.
Back in 2012, Norris faced Brent Morel in an Astros versus Chicago White Sox spring training game at Houston. Morel went 0-for-2.
In 2021, outfielder Mitch Haniger of the Seattle Mariners faced Texas Rangers pitcher Spencer Howard at T-Mobile Park. Howard pitched three scoreless innings in his second start for Texas. Haniger went 1-for-2 against Howard with an infield single and a groundout.
Haniger also was involved in a Mustang vs. Mustang matchup in 2016. Facing Norris, the 2012 Big West Player of the Year lined a single to left field for the Arizona Diamondbacks against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The seventh matchup between former Cal Poly players in regular-season Major League games occurred on July 10, 2024. It was the first matching two Mustang teammates as both Thorpe and Lee were on the Cal Poly roster for three years (2020-22).
By all accounts, the Mustang vs. Mustang matchup at Guaranteed Rate Field on Chicago's south side ended in a draw. Thorpe of the Chicago White Sox struck out Lee on a check swing ending the third inning. Lee answered with a one-out home run in the sixth inning.
Thorpe is sidelined for the entire 2025 campaign and likely the first half of 2026 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in March. In 2024, his first MLB season, Thorpe was 3-3 with a 5.48 ERA and 25 strikeouts over 44 1/3 innings.
Thirteen other Mustangs are toiling in the minor or independent leagues or outside the country.
- Outfielder Nick Torres is hitting .320 for Union Laguna and is second in the Mexican League in doubles (22), seventh in home runs (15) and tied for 13th in RBIs (49).
- Pitcher Spencer Howard sports a 3-0 record and 1.84 ERA for the Rakuten Golden Eagles in Japan's Nippon Professional League. In five starts, the right-hander has allowed just seven walks while striking out 21 over 29 1/3 innings, and his wins were against Chiba on May 14 (seven scoreless innings), Yomiuri on June 6 (seven scoreless innings, six strikeouts) and Harshan on June 13 (two runs over five innings).
- Another pitcher, Bryce Warrecker, has compiled a 0.88 ERA and one save at Hi-A Hudson Valley. He has allowed one run in just two of his 19 relief appearances and also made one start, a two-inning no-decision against Winston-Salem on May 25. Warrecker has earned 36 strikeouts while walking just seven over 30 2/3 innings.
- Sidelined nearly 25 months after undergoing Tommy John surgery in June 2023, Taylor Dollard is attempting a comeback in the Seattle organization. He was 0-1 with a 7.07 ERA in six starts in the Arizona Complex League before he was elevated to the Northwest League's Everett AquaSox earlier this month. In two appearances on the mound, Dollard is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA, allowing no runs, two hits and one walk with three strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings.
- Lefty Andrew Alvarez is 0-6 with a 4.67 ERA in 15 starts on the mound for Triple-A Rochester. In three early starts against Buffalo, all five innings, he did not allow an earned run but was credited with a loss and two no-decisions. In starts June 11 versus Jacksonville and June 17 against Lehigh Valley, Alvarez allowed one run and four hits in each game with a combined nine strikeouts. Both were no-decisions but Alvarez lowered his ERA from 5.24 to 4.64.
- Steven Brooks is 2-4 with a 6.38 ERA at Salem in the Single-A Carolina League. In 11 starts, the righty has struck out 41 batters over 42 1/3 innings, including a career-high seven batters in a no-decision against Delaware on June 10. Brooks owns wins over Fredericksburg on April 9 (five scoreless innings) and Hickory on April 22 (one run and one hit over five innings).
- Catcher Myles Emmerson is hitting .228 for the Rocket City Trash Pandas in Double-A with nine doubles, three home runs and 13 RBIs in 43 games. He has nine multiple-hit games (all two hits) and hit .400 (8-for-20) in his first six games of the season.
- Southpaw Jakob Wright, 0-0 with a 1.10 ERA at Rancho Cucamonga, is on the injury list for a second time this season. He has pitched in seven games with 18 strikeouts over 16 1/3 innings. In his last outing June 15 against Inland Empire, Wright tossed three scoreless innings with two hits, one walk and three strikeouts in a no-decision.
- Derek True, on the Asheville Tourists' injury list since May 12, was sent to the Florida Complex League on a rehab assignment and made one start June 17 against the FCL Marlins, allowing two runs and two hits in 1 2/3 innings. He struck out three in the 7-2 loss. With Asheville, True is 2-2 with a 4.82 ERA and 16 strikeouts over 18 2/3 innings.
- Catcher Ryan Stafford is hitting .179 for the Aberdeen Iron Birds in the Sally League. He has eight doubles and a triple, driving in 20 runs and stealing 13 of 16 bases in 57 games. Stafford hit .246 in April but slipped to .117 in May and .171 so far in June.
- Outfielder Jake Steels owns a .152 average for the Augusta Green Jackets in the Carolina League. His 16 hits include a pair of doubles and Steels has knocked in eight runs in 37 games. Steels hit .212 in April, .135 in May and .152 so far in June.
- Pitcher Erich Uelmen, who elected free agency after pitching for the Reno Aces in 2024, is 2-1 with a 2.92 ERA for the High Point (N.C.) Rockers in the Atlantic Independent League. In 37 innings over eight starts, Uelmen has struck out 27 batters while walking only eight.
- Pitcher Jason Franks, released by the Augusta Green Jackets last October, is 1-1 with a 4.38 ERA for the Kalispell (Mont.)-based Glacier Range Riders of the Pioneer Independent League. Franks has appeared in 12 games, all in relief, with 16 strikeouts over 12 1/3 innings.
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