SEATTLE – Ty France left the Mariners opener with a right forearm against the Dodgers after being hit by Dustin May during a fifth-inning run of 98.4 mph. X-rays were negative, the Mariners announced.
May struggled with his command at the time, and his two-seater – reserved for the elite who had invaded to the right – continued to thrive against France.
“You’re getting a bad feeling,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said after the 4-3 victory. ‘When you stand so close to the house plate, you sometimes feel like it’s a broken leg or whatever. But you never know before they get the X-ray. So, of course, very glad that it is not a broken leg. He’s going to hurt tomorrow. We’ll have to wait to see how he feels when he comes in in the morning. Hopefully he’s good to go. But we have to wait and see. ‘
The designated Seattle hit played third base for the first time this season, and when he returned to the field and struck between innings, his pain was too pronounced to continue. He could be seen on the ROOT Sports broadcast with his mouth: ‘I can not throw’ after the Mariners’ excavation, and then he was replaced by handyman Sam Haggerty.
France, who have been beaten four times this season, were the Mariners’ most productive bat outside of Mitch Haniger, and the two formed one of the more formidable 1-2 strokes in the U.S. league at the top of the rankings. France came in on Monday with .305 / .400 / .525 with three homers, 10 RBIs and 172 OPS +. He caught up with Sunday’s 7-2 victory over the Astros with a season-high three RBIs.
The Mariners have been without their leading producer since 2020 – center fielder Kyle Lewis – but the reigning AL Rookie of the Year is expected to be activated for Tuesday’s series final.
Second-back Dylan Moore took over for France in third place and Haggerty took second place from Moore on Monday. The everyday third man, Kyle Seager, started at DH on Monday, after starting on the hot corner in the first 16 games of the Mariners.