Trevor Larnach's two-run homer in eighth sends Twins past Mariners

Joe Ryan fanned 10 in 5 2/3 innings in another strong start.

Minnesota Twins second baseman Austin Martin (82) claps after scoring against the Seattle Mariners during the fifth inning at T-Mobile Park in Seattle on June 30, 2024. / John Froschauer-USA TODAY Sports

Trevor Larnach hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning to lift the Twins to a 5-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners in their series finale Sunday afternoon at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. 

Tied 3-3 in the eighth inning with one out, Jose Miranda singled before Larnach sent a splitter from Mariners reliever Ryne Stanek 406 feet into center field the next at-bat to break the tie. 

Jhoan Duran pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to close it out and pick up the save, his 12th of the year.

The Mariners (47-39) tied the game in the seventh inning when former Twin Jorge Polanco hit an RBI single that scored Luke Raley, bringing Seattle all the way out of an early 3-0 deficit. 

The Twins (47-37) plated the first run of the day right away in the first inning as Willi Castro led off the inning with a single to right field, stole second base to get in scoring position and was brought home a couple at-bats later when Larnach singled to center field. Larnach went 2 for 4 with three RBIs.

Max Kepler led off the fifth inning with a single to right field and came home the next at-bat on Austin Martin’s double to left. Martin later came around to score when Miranda singled to left field, giving the Twins a 3-0 advantage. But the Mariners got themselves right back in the game in the bottom.

Twins starter Joe Ryan pitched a clean game through four innings but gave up a leadoff triple to Dylan Moore in the fifth and an infield single to Josh Rojas that had Seattle threatening with one out. Julio Rodriguez then reached fielder’s choice and Moore was able to score on an error by Ryan.

The Mariners loaded the bases when Byron Buxton lost Cal Raleigh’s fly ball in the sun, and the next at-bat, Luke Raley reached on an infield single that scored Rojas to get the Mariners within a run.

But Ryan struck out Ryan Bliss and got Polanco to pop out to short to limit the damage and get out of the inning with the Twins still holding on to a 3-2 advantage. 

Ryan came back out for the sixth inning and got Ty France to ground out before striking out Moore. That was the end of the day for Ryan, who gave up just one run off six hits while fanning 10 across 5 2/3 innings, though he appeared frustrated by being pulled early after another strong start.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli turned to left-handed reliever Caleb Thielbar for the final out of the sixth inning, and while Thielbar issued walks to J.P. Crawford and Rojas, he got Rodriguez to line out for the final out, preserving the Twins’ narrow 3-2 lead. 

The Twins have an off day on Monday before they begin a three-game home series against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m.