Watch: Ty France slugs go-ahead HR to cap big night at the plate

May 31, 2024, 10:45 PM | Updated: 11:46 pm

Seattle Sports

SEATTLE — Seattle Mariners first baseman Ty France broke out in a major way Friday night against the Los Angeles Angles, collecting three hits, three RBI and the go-ahead solo blast in the eighth inning to propel his team to a 5-4 victory.

France’s go-ahead home run lifts Seattle Mariners past Angels 5-4

France started his evening with a hard-hit double to the opposite field that escaped the glove of leaping Angels right fielder Kevin Pillar and drove in two runs to put the Mariners ahead 3-0.

Seattle’s first baseman then came through in the clutch after a deflating game-tying grand slam by the Angels in the seventh. With one out and nobody on during a 4-4 game in the bottom of the eighth, France scorched a hanging changeup from left-hander Matt Moore 108 mph off the bat for a 418-foot home run to left field that put his team in the lead for good.

“It’s been a grind of a year,” France said after the game. “So to be able to help the team like that, it was awesome.”

France also walked and finished 3-for-3 with a run scored. The home run was his seventh of the season, which is second on the team to catcher Cal Raleigh’s 11. The effort helped France raise his slash line from .249/.313/.381 to .260/.325/.411.

In 18 games since May 13, France is hitting .317 with two doubles, five home runs and 13 RBI. He’s hit safely in 14 of those games and produced multiple hits five times.

The victory helped the Mariners improve to 32-27 and extend their AL West lead to four games over the second-place Texas Rangers.