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.

More Seattle Mariners coverage

• Why Seattle Mariners parted ways with offensive coordinator Brant Brown
• Mariners GM takes us inside MLB trade market and their expectations
• Seattle Mariners Takeaways: Bullpen rebounds, offense stays cool
• Video: Bob’s Baseball Breakdown – Should Mariners make moves now?
• J.P. Crawford wows with one of this year’s best web gems
• How an adjustment helped George Kirby stifle Astros

Follow @ZacHereth

SEATTLE – A film highlighting the unique experience of growing up in Seattle debuts tonight at the SIFF Cinema Uptown. 

“Know Your Place,” the story of a 15-year-old Eritrean American boy navigating family, identity and a changing city, begins its run in Seattle after touring the globe for nearly two years.

The movie made its world premiere in 2022 at the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), where it won the Golden Space Needle award, an audience favorite. Since then, it has been showcased at numerous film festivals worldwide, including New York, Vancouver, London, Ireland and Johannesburg.

“Know Your Place” will premiere in front of a general audience Friday, and the film’s creator, Zia Mohajerjasbi, told FOX 13 Seattle that the movie is for Seattle.

“I feel nervous, anxious, excited, and very grateful,” he said. Mohajerjasbi, who started his career in Seattle making music videos for artists like J-Kwon and Macklemore, developed the story for “Know Your Place” out of homesickness for Seattle while living in Los Angeles. 

“I love filming in Seattle. It’s like my favorite place to film. I mean part of it is when you know somewhere so intimately,” he said.

Determined to create an authentic film, Mohajerjasbi returned to Seattle to use a local cast and crew.

“I want to make a film in Seattle, with a Seattle crew, with a Seattle cast, and if we’re also being specific about narrative, and the community that we’re depicting on screen, then the community has to represent itself,” he explained.

The film centers on a young boy trying to help a sick family member, set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing Seattle. Many of the film’s locations have since disappeared, adding a layer of poignancy to the narrative. Although it is told through the lens of an Eritrean American, Mohajerjasbi believes the film conveys a universal human story. 

“Based off what they’re maybe bringing to the table watching the film and ingesting that. So, I hope different people take away different things,” he said. 

“Know Your Place” was shot entirely in Seattle over a three-year period, and Mohajerjasbi hopes different people take away different things from it.

“We really want to give this to Seattle, and we hope that, you know, the audiences here will sort of complete, you know, the lifecycle of the film,” Mohajerjasbi said,

For the first time ever, the film is available outside of film festival screenings and open to the public where the journey began. There are two screenings on Friday, with Mohajerjasbi holding a Q&A session after the 7 o’clock show. 

“Know Your Place” will continue playing at SIFF Cinema Uptown throughout the week, with plans to expand to theaters across the country and eventually to streaming platforms.

MORE SEATTLE NEWS ON FOX 13 SEATTLE

Will Seattle see the Northern Lights again this weekend?

Car rams into business in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood

UW students terrified after several on-campus armed robberies

Seattle city attorney seeks default judgment against ‘Belltown ‘Hellcat’ driver

Popular Filipino fast-food chain opening first Seattle location

To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX 13 Seattle newsletter.

Geno Smith has resurrected his career since taking over the Seattle Seahawks’ starting quarterback job two years ago.

Seahawks OTAs: What stands out to former UW coach Chris Petersen

After starting just five games between 2015 and 2021, Smith earned AP Comeback Player of the Year honors in 2022 with a breakout season that saw him lead the NFL in completion percentage and finish seventh in ESPN’s QBR metric. Smith’s production declined a bit last year, but he still finished 14th in QBR, even while playing behind an offensive line that was decimated by injuries.

However, as Pro Football Focus analyst Trevor Sikkema pointed out in his recent 2024 NFL starting quarterback rankings, the 33-year-old Smith really had four distinct stretches of play over the past two seasons. Over the first half of 2022 and the second half of 2023, he was among the best quarterbacks in the league. But over the second half of 2022 and the first half of 2023, he struggled.

Those dramatic peaks and valleys are why Sikkema ranked Smith 18th out of the NFL’s 32 potential starting quarterbacks for 2024.

“Honestly, when I had him at 18, it felt low for the highs that I have seen in Geno,” Sikkema said Wednesday on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy. “But it was just the up and down … for the last two years that was kind of tough for him. I believe he’s a really good quarterback. It’s just kind of a consistency thing. But we’ve seen it from him, for sure.”

Over the first eight weeks of the 2022 season, Smith’s 88.4 PFF grade ranked second among all quarterbacks in the league, trailing only Buffalo Bills star Josh Allen. During that stretch, Smith had 17 big-time throws and 10 turnover-worthy plays, according to PFF (see the bottom of this article for a definition of both stats). However, over the final 10 weeks of 2022, Smith had a league-high 19 turnover-worthy plays and his PFF grade plummeted to 66.8.

New Seahawks QB Sam Howell ‘excited’ to be in Seattle

It was the opposite in 2023. Over the first nine weeks of last season, Smith had a 74.2 PFF grade, 12 big-time throws and 13 turnover-worthy plays. But he heated up in the second half of the season, posting an 85.0 PFF grade with 20 big-time throws and eight turnover-worthy plays over the final nine weeks. He had the third-most big-time throws over that span, despite missing two games with a groin injury.

“He’s had these streaks over the last couple of years and you’ve just gotta all put it together,” Sikkema said. “Him being healthy, the guys around him being healthy, having that consistency, getting to play a ton together, that chemistry. I think that it’s all there for Geno.”

Note: PFF defines big-time throws as passes with “excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window.” Turnover-worthy plays are either passes that have a high chance of being intercepted or when a quarterback fumbles.

Listen to the full conversation with PFF’s Trevor Sikkema at this link or in the player near the top of this post. Bump and Stacy airs live from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.

More Seattle Seahawks coverage

• Where does Seahawks’ running back room rank in NFL?
• Do Shelby Harris’ comments reflect how free agents view Seahawks?
• Brock: The biggest difference Macdonald brings to Seahawks
• Is Seahawks’ big investment on D-line a good strategy?
• Lofa: What stands out with Seattle Seahawks LB Tyrice Knight

Follow @CameronVanTil