The Houston Astros are in the Pacific Northwest for a game against their American League West rivals, the Seattle Mariners, on Saturday night. That game will produce the first matchup of its kind in more than 25 years.
Houston’s starting pitcher for the game is J.P. France, the 28-year-old right-hander making his Major League debut. One of the first hitters he’ll face is Seattle’s veteran first baseman, Ty France, who is batting second for the Mariners.
So, it will be France vs. France. How often does a matchup like that happen in Major League Baseball? Not very, at least not recently.
Alex Mayer, who does statistics for Seattle, tweeted on Saturday night that it will be the “first batter/pitcher matchup whose last names are the SAME country since Kevin Jordan faced Ricardo Jordan on Sept. 10, 1997.”
Ty France facing J.P. France: first batter/pitcher matchup whose last names are the SAME country since Kevin Jordan faced Ricardo Jordan on Sept. 10, 1997.
— Alex Mayer (@alexmayer34) May 7, 2023
Baseball fans were excited to learn about the two Frances squaring off on Saturday night.
Tweet of the Day – Artistic Brilliance in Obscurity category https://t.co/AKCA57WYKi
— Neal Coolong (@NealCoolong) May 7, 2023
Someone alert French baseball legends Bruce Bochy and Steve Jeltz! 🇫🇷 https://t.co/ZNg5UoXiSY
— Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) May 7, 2023
And before you ask… Steve Parris was out of baseball before Luke French’s rookie season.
So the highly anticipated Parris vs French pitcher’s duel never materialized. 😢 https://t.co/lVdrLpUR7h
— Mitch Levy (@Mitch_Seattle) May 7, 2023
Real shame Derrick and Chadwick Uzbekistan never faced off. https://t.co/yMN3fRkZoB
— Daniel Kelley (@danieltkelley) May 7, 2023
This is amazing 😂 https://t.co/iYxXOMtmnP
— Seattle Mariners ON Tap (@MarinersONTap) May 7, 2023
https://t.co/2HBaMXgukr pic.twitter.com/VVcgBBrIq9
— Seto Kaiba (@ImCatfishAF) May 7, 2023
Can I love this but still insist you're sick in the head at the same time? https://t.co/FfZcFV4EcT
— Corey Brock (@CoreyBrockMLB) May 7, 2023
i’m biased but we have the best stat person in baseball https://t.co/vG6cHHmLB8
— Brian Floyd (@BrianMFloyd) May 7, 2023
For anyone curious, the battle of Jordans on September 10, 1997 went the way of the pitcher, Ricardo. Ricardo handled mop-up duty, pitching the ninth inning as his New York Mets handily defeated Kevin’s Philadelphia Phillies, 10-2. Ricardo got Kevin to fly out to center field for the first out of the inning.
