High-stakes Twins vs. Mariners series brings Ty France's revenge tour to Seattle

After taking one on the chin from a non-contender, the Seattle Mariners badly need a series win over the weekend to right their ship. They'll have to work for it, as rolling into town is a Minnesota Twins team that has won 17 out of its last 22 games.

Plus, you just know their first baseman is going to have a little extra fire in him throughout the weekend.

The last time Ty France was at T-Mobile Park was on July 21, 2024. That date marked his final game as a Mariner, as he was subsequently designated for assignment and traded to the Cincinnati Reds. Though not surprising, it put a period at the end of a shocking downfall for a guy who had been an All-Star for the drought-busting Mariners of 2022.

Ty France returns to Seattle amid a career revival with the Twins

We are not going to look back on France's ouster from Seattle as some kind of grave injustice. He may have been a fan favorite, but it's results that matter and his had simply not been there for too long.

Whereas France had gone into the 2022 All-Star break with a 136 wRC+ for his first 254 games as a Mariner, the next 307 games after that saw him tumble to a 102 wRC+. That cuts it for a catcher, but not a first baseman, least of all one whose slugging percentage had taken up residence below .400.

Had the Mariners held on the France for the remainder of 2024, they would have gone into the offseason and faced the prospect of an arbitration raise to $8.6 million — a steal if he was still hitting like he had in 2022, but those days seemed dead and buried. Moving on ahead of time was the right move, at least in a vacuum.

Yet as always, context matters. The Mariners did not have and still don't have a real replacement for France at first base. The position has become a sort of faulty Rubik's Cube, with lots of moving parts yet no logical endpoint.

Though not the reason, first base is certainly a reason that the Mariners find themselves struggling to hold onto first place in the AL West. The position is in the red with -0.3 rWAR, producing only 35 hits and 21 runs batted in all season. The tandem of Rowdy Tellez and Donovan Solano was never likely to work, of course, to a point where even getting eight homers from Tellez feels like beating the odds.

Meanwhile, France is with the Twins on a mere $1 million deal after he was outrighted by the Reds. And while his slash line of .254/.319/.358 doesn't herald the return of an All-Star hitter, he's had a knack for making his hits count.

The 30-year-old leads the Twins with 49 hits and 30 RBI. He's already produced two walk-off knocks, and has generally been a menace with runners in scoring position to the tune of a .382 average. He's also batting a ridiculous .400 with 16 of his RBI in high-leverage spots.

“He knows what he’s trying to do, and I think he’s able to really focus well in those particular types of situations,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said after France drilled a walk-off homer against the Kansas City Royals on May 23, per Matthew Leach of MLB.com. “Normally I’d say he doesn’t try to do too much. He just hits line drives all around the field because that’s what he normally does, but sometimes you just catch one out front and hammer it. And he hammered it.”

Even if he wasn't Ty France, a guy with these clutch-hitting creds strolling into Seattle would be tantamount to trolling. The Mariners offense has been a mixed bag in clutch spots, excelling in high-leverage (.865 OPS) but falling flat in RISP spots. Their .229 average in those is the eighth-lowest mark in MLB.

Overall, the slump that the Mariners offense has been in throughout May — it has scored 3.5 runs per game since May 3 — automatically puts the onus on the pitching staff to keep France and the rest of Minnesota's offense in check over the next three days. The glimmer of hope here is that this is not a good fastball-hitting offense, and it'll be up against three guys who dig throwing the heater.

This means Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller, and Luis Castillo. Woo and Castillo are certified hot right now, having combined for a 2.34 ERA in May. But Miller is coming off the IL on Saturday to make his first start since May 11, and the situation with his elbow doesn't seem sustainable.

If the Mariners slip up, there's a real chance that they will wake up Monday without at least a share of first place for the first time since April 25. Their lead over the Houston Astros got as high as 3.5 games, but is now down to 0.5 games.

Game Times and Probable Pitchers for Mariners vs. Twins, May 30-June 1

• Friday, May 30 at 7:10 p.m. PT: Zebby Matthews vs. Bryan Woo
• Saturday, May 31 at 4:15 p.m. PT: Bailey Ober vs. Bryce Miller
• Sunday, June 1 at 1:10 p.m. PT: Chris Paddack vs. Luis Castillo