Minnesota’s Ty France helped make sure his first trip back in the Pacific Northwest was a memorable one Friday.
France singled leading off the ninth inning against Seattle Mariners closer Andres Munoz to spark a three-run rally. The Twins went on to score six runs in the 10th to prevail, 12-6.
The three-game series continues Saturday afternoon at Seattle.
France spent parts of five seasons with the Mariners, making the American League All-Star team in 2022.
“It’s been good,” France said of his first game in Seattle since being traded to Cincinnati last July 29. “It’s always nice coming back to a place you’re familiar with. … This was home for a long time. First time I’ve even been in the visiting locker room. Definitely a lot of different emotions. But excited to be back, excited to play in front of these fans again.”
France, who signed with the Twins as a free agent in the offseason, received a video tribute after the first inning.
“It means a lot,” France said before Friday’s game. “From day one when I stepped into that locker room over there, they’ve always done things right. They’re first-class about everything. Very grateful for my time here. It was, like I said, parts of five seasons. Bulk of my career so far has been in one uniform. Ran into a lot of good people over there. … Excited to watch the video. I don’t know how I’m gonna react or how it’s gonna feel, but very grateful for it.”
France chatted with several former teammates before the game, including catcher Cal Raleigh.
“Ty has a lot of previous relationships with a lot of guys in the clubhouse,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “I know Ty was a very popular player here and did a lot of great things. That’s one of the nice things about baseball. Sometimes you lose a member of the family but you get a chance to see them elsewhere. I know for a lot of guys, it’ll be great to see Ty and it’s a homecoming of sorts for him.”
Willi Castro homered twice, including with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, and Carlos Correa and Trevor Larnach also went deep for the Twins. Correa’s homer in the 10th led to a six-run outburst.
That spoiled a historic night for Raleigh, who homered twice to become the first catcher in history with 20 by the end of May.
Mariners closer Andres Munoz allowed three runs with two outs in the ninth, the first earned runs he’s given up this season, to blow the save opportunity.
It was the second straight lopsided extra-inning loss by Seattle, which gave up seven runs in the 10th of a 9-3 defeat Thursday against visiting Washington. The Mariners dropped a half-game behind Houston in the AL West.
Saturday’s pitching matchup is set to feature a pair of right-handers in the Twins’ Bailey Ober (4-1, 3.41 ERA) against the Mariners’ Bryce Miller (2-4, 5.22), who will be returning after a stint on the 15-day injured list due to right elbow inflammation.
Ober has taken four straight no-decisions — though he’s allowed just six runs in that span — after winning four straight starts from April 15-May 3.
He’s 2-0 with a 3.46 ERA in five previous starts against the M’s. Miller is 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA in two career starts versus Minnesota.
-Field Level Media
