SEATTLE — This weekend’s return to Seattle brought back a lot of different emotions for Ty France, who played for the Mariners for parts of five seasons and was an all-star during his time in Seattle but didn’t quite have the ending he would have hoped.

France struggled struggled last season and was eventually designated for assignment before a trade to the Cincinnati Reds in July. He returned this weekend in a much better place and was welcomed back with a tribute video on Friday, after which he tipped his helmet to an applause from the crowd. He then went out and collected four hits in the series against the Mariners.

“I’m having a lot more fun. This game is hard. You go through a bunch of waves,” France said. “Obviously how things ended here kind of — not that it wasn’t ready for my time to end here but kind of felt like it was ripped away. Didn’t really get the closure and ending that I wanted but coming here to Minnesota, getting this opportunity to play here … it’s been a great ride.”

France’s numbers took a dive last year, in response partially, he’s said in the past, from getting “lost in the mechanical aspect.” He also suffered a right heel fracture during the season, which did nothing to help matters.

It wasn’t the first time he hadn’t had success, but “it was the first time I failed that bad,” he said. His wife, Maggie, and one-year-old son Luka and his life off the field ended up being what helped him enjoy the game more on the field.

“It kind of shows you how little this is compared to life. Having them around, we have our two dogs, too,” he said. “The off the field stuff has made me really appreciate the on the field stuff.”

Signed to a non-guaranteed contract,  France made a strong impression this spring and has posted up nearly every day at first base this season for the Twins.

It’s a small sample size, but he’s been particularly good with two outs and runners in scoring position and in late and close situations for the Twins and has fit in seamlessly.

“He’s been a stabilizing presence in our lineup. He’s put good at-bats together,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He’s been great in our clubhouse, with his teammates. … He’s got really good character and charisma. He’s been everything we could hope for.”

Lee gives thanks to Correa

The last thing Carlos Correa wanted to do was get ejected on Saturday.

During the seventh inning of Saturday’s game, the shortstop was tossed by home-plate umpire Austin Jones from the on-deck circle. He didn’t think it would ever happen in his career — and wasn’t looking forward to having to explain the situation to his young sons, Kylo and Kenzo.

“I understand the situation of the game. I understand that I cannot get thrown out, so I’m never going to disrespect an umpire, I’m never going to say anything that would make them want to throw me out,” Correa said. “I’ve also got my kids watching every game so the last thing I want to do is go home and have to explain what happened, but we move on.”

At the very least, his actions were appreciated by Brooks Lee, who was at the plate and had just had two questionable strikes called on him right before the ejection.

“I said, ‘Thank you,’” Lee said. “He said, ‘It’s the first time I’ve ever been tossed, so you know I love you.’”

Briefly

Royce Lewis hit ninth on Sunday amid a slump that has seen him go 0 for 30. He is hitless since May 19 and was removed for Lee, who pinch hit for him in the eighth inning. … The Twins will now head to Sacramento to take on the Athletics in their temporary park. The ballpark is typically used for the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. Joe Ryan is scheduled to start.

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A preposterous four-goal outburst in less than eight minutes defined Minnesota United’s first win at Seattle.

Loons forward Tani Oluwaseyi scored the opening goal in the 51st minute, and the seal was ripped off. Robin Lod made it 2-0 with a penalty kick in the 54th and Sounders’ Kalani Rienzi scored only seconds later to cut the lead to 2-1.

Then Oluwaseyi slotted in his second goal in the 58th in an eventual 3-2 win at Lumen Stadium in Seattle.

MNUFC (8-3-6, 30 points) ended one of the most lopsided series drought in MLS history: the Loons had zero points across nine MLS games in Seattle before this weekend.

Minnesota created Seattle (7-4-5, 26 points) also suffered its first defeat at home this season.

An own goal from Nico Romero in the 83rd minute cut Minnesota’s lead to 3-2 and brought back nightmares of how MNUFC gave up a two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss in this building in the 2020 Western Conference final.

Loons attacking midfielders Robin Lod and Joaquin Pereyra were instrumental in setting up each goal. Lod’s deked out Seattle’s Nouhou Tolo before an assist on Oluwaseyi’s first goal.

Pereyra’s long dribble into the attacking third led to his cross to Bongi Hlongwane, who was fouled in the box for the PK Lod converted.

Then Pereyra’s initial shot was stopped by Stefan Frei, but Oluwaseyi converted the rebound.

MNUFC had the two best scoring chances of the first half, with Oluwaseyi’s header hitting the crossbar in the eighth minute.  In the 45th, Julian Gressel’s shot had power but not enough direction as Stefan Frei easily shared the shot.

Loons left wingback Anthony Markanich was lucky to not receive a second yellow card in the 70th minute. Loons coach Eric Ramsay was going to sub out Robin Lod, but after that near miss Markanich was yanked out of the match.

Three tidbits

Owen Gene, 22, made his first MLS start Saturday. The French midfielder, who missed nearly two months with an ankle injury, had played only 139 minutes across seven matches this season. … The Loons signed 17-year-old attacker Darius Randell to a first-team contract and will occupy an off-roster homegrown slot. He is the club’s fourth-ever homegrown player, joining Devin Padelford, Patrick Weah and Fred Emmings. … MNUFC has 10 players — including six regulars — called up to national teams: Dayne St. Clair and Tani Oluwaseyi (Canada); Robin Lod (Finland); Michael Boxall (New Zealand); Joseph Rosales (Honduras); Carlos Harvey (Panama).

State officials are accepting comments on the environmental impacts of a project proposed by 3M Corp. to collect surface water upstream of a dump in Oakdale in order to reduce polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in stormwater discharge from the site.

The Abresch Disposal Site is the largest of three former disposal locations that comprise the Oakdale Disposal Site, a state and federal Superfund site.

3M is working with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to remediate soil and groundwater at the site. The project is proposed to further reduce PFAS impacts to stormwater discharge from the site, according to an environmental review of the project.

The proposed project would collect surface water upstream of the site and divert it to a three-acre flood-retention basin, where water would then be reintroduced into the natural flow of the watershed, according to the environmental assessment worksheet.

A three-quarter-mile conveyance pipe would bypass the Abresch Disposal Site, thus bypassing PFAS detected within the site, according to the EAW. “This would reduce the discharge of PFAS in surface water and improve downstream surface water quality in the Twin Cities east metropolitan area,” the EAW states.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is accepting comments until 4:30 p.m. June 26 on the EAW.

A copy of the EAW is available on the project page of the DNR website; a print copy may be requested by calling 651-259-5522.

The EAW  is also available for public review at the Oakdale Library, the DNR Library and the Minneapolis Central Library.

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Comments on the EAW must be submitted no later than 4:30 p.m. June 26. Email comments should be sent to environmentalrev.dnr@state.mn.us with “3M surface water diversion” in the subject line. Comments can be mailed to Becky Horton, EAW Project Manager, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 500 Lafayette Road, Box 25, St. Paul, MN 55155-4025.

Anyone providing a mailing address or submitting comments via email will receive a copy of the subsequent decision document, which will include responses to comments, according to the DNR.

Because all comments and related information are part of the public record for the environmental review, commenters’ names and email or postal addresses will be published and publicly available as they appear in the materials commenters submit.

SEATTLE — Chris Paddack did everything in his control to lead his team to victory on Sunday. It wasn’t enough, because unfortunately for the Twins right-hander can’t control how much run support he gets. And lately, there hasn’t been much of it for Sunday’s starter.

The Twins, who showed in the first two games of the series they’re never out of it, came back in the ninth inning for the third straight day, using a Harrison Bader sacrifice fly to tie the game.

But after Kody Clemens could not handle a Julio Rodríguez ground ball that went for a single, the outfielder advanced to second on a stolen base and third on an error before coming home on Randy Arozarena’s single to push the Mariners to a 2-1 victory in the series finale at T-Mobile Park.

And that meant Paddack, in one of the best starts of his career, was not rewarded for it.

The only blemish on an otherwise dominant day for him came in the seventh inning when one of the hottest hitters in the game got hold of a low pitch beneath the strike zone and took it out of the ballpark.

It seemed as if that one would be all it would take.

Cal Raleigh’s fourth home run in three games against the Twins was the only run for either team through the first eight innings. That came on a day on which Paddack was nearly unhittable. He threw eight innings, gave up just four hits and struck out 10. He began his outing by throwing 15 straight strikes and kept attacking the zone throughout, making quick work of Mariners hitters.

It wasn’t until the seventh inning when Raleigh, now Major League Baseball’s home run leader with 23, unleashed on a low first-pitch curveball from Paddack that the Mariners broke through.

While the Mariners had one small breakthrough against Paddack, the Twins couldn’t do the same against Mariners ace Luis Castillo, who worked six innings, gave up four hits and matched Paddack with zeros inning after inning. The Twins couldn’t break through against the Seattle bullpen, either.

They had their chances — certainly more than Seattle did — putting at least one runner on in five of Castillo’s six innings, including two in the third, when they had a runner reach third base. But they couldn’t convert those runners into runs, and in the top of the eighth, they left another pair on with Carlos Correa striking out to end the inning before spiking his helmet into the dirt.

And after tying the game up in the ninth, the Twins couldn’t quite complete the job for the second straight day.

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