SEATTLE — To put the Twins’ 2-1, 10-inning victory over Seattle on Friday into perspective, think about May 15 — the first game of the that hideous road trip to New York and Chicago.

That night, Francisco Liriano allowed one run over six innings, and the Twins took a 4-2 lead into the ninth inning, before the Yankees rallied for three runs off Joe Nathan, pulling out a 5-4 win.

It was the first of three walk-off victories for the Yankees, and the first of six consecutive losses for the Twins. A road trip that might have started on a positive note turned into a disaster.

LIRIANO SHOWS TRUST

Last weekend in Tampa Bay, Liriano admitted he gets so flustered in pressure situations, he has a hard time deciding what to throw. As Crash Davis told Nuke, “You just got lesson number one: Don’t think. It can only hurt the ballclub.”

Manager Ron Gardenhire said it was time for Liriano to start listening to his catcher. So what happened tonight, when the Mariners loaded the bases in the third inning?

“I just trust Joe [Mauer],” Liriano said. “Whatever he calls, I’m going to throw today. I didn’t shake. I shook like twice, but not in that inning.”

THE HOME RUN THAT WASN’T

I can’t print the word Gardenhire gave when asked what the mood was on the bench when Franklin Gutierrez made his leaping catch on Jason Kubel’s drive in the 10th inning.

“Kube got robbed,” Matt Tolbert said. “I thought for sure that ball was a home run. Deepest part of the park, and this park’s big. Joe [Mauer] was heads up for tagging [and advancing to third base]. That was huge. He got to third with one out.”

THE SQUEEZE THAT WASN’T

With a 1-1 count, the Twins went for a suicide squeeze, but the Mariners guessed right.

“The next pitch was a pitch out, four feet outside,” Tolbert said. “Maybe if I were Joe Mauer, I could have reached out and just placed a perfect bunt, but you know, it didn’t happen.”

Tolbert said he was just glad Mauer didn’t hurt his knees in the rundown.

THE CATCH THAT WASN’T

Then Tolbert got redemption, as his long fly ball to left field fell for an error, allowing Justin Morneau to score from second. As La Velle would say, “Wladimir Balentien made a meal outta that play.”

Bad route, and the ball bounced off his glove. Someone said it actually hit the back of his glove, though I haven’t been able to confirm that on replay. It was ruled an error.

“That’s stupid,” Gardenhire said. “The official scorer’s got issues. … I’m not mad at you, but that’s a base hit.”

Then Tolbert delivered the line of the night.

“I heard that [it was ruled an error], and that absolutely does not matter,” he said. “What am I going to be hitting, .177 instead of .174? It doesn’t matter. The fact is we won. That’s the bottom line. That’s what it’s about.”

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