Franco shows power as Phillies tie Detroit

Franco, image- Jay Floyd

In a contest that ended in a 6-6 tie on Thursday, third baseman Maikel Franco continued his hot spring for the Phillies with a pair of home runs and four RBI against the Tigers in Clearwater.

Franco got the scoring started in the bottom of the 1st inning when he launched a two-run blast off of starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann. With Zimmermann still on the mound in the 4th, the 23-year-old did more damage with another two-run big fly.

A 2-for-2 day put Franco's pre-season batting average at .350 through eight games while the two dingers gives him four in the young exhibition season.

Starting pitcher Aaron Nola wasn't very sharp as he gave up two earned runs on four hits in 2 2/3 innings of work. He notched four strike outs and issued one walk.

Ernesto Frieri pitched the 9th inning for the Phillies, but blew a 5-4 lead, surrendering two earned runs in his lone inning of work.

With the Phillies trailing 6-5 in the bottom of the 9th 2nd baseman Ryan Jackson homered to tie the game, preventing the Phils from taking the loss. The exhibition was called a tie after nine innings.

Former Phillies outfielder John Mayberry Jr. went 1-for-3 with a RBI in the game for Detroit.

The Phillies (7-3-2) are back in action on Friday on the road against the Braves. They'll face former Phillies right-hander Kyle Kendrick in the 1:05 PM affair.

Comments

Eric B Needs to be Cut (and My Name is Rakim)

While the Phillies are on a hot streak this month, one player on the team is not. Eric Bruntlett is 1-for-12 in July. Since the start of May, Bruntlett's apex in batting average has been .167 on June 14th. Bruntlett's ineptitude can be tolerated no longer. Get rid of this guy NOW! Eric B. is the 2009 Endy Chavez. Remember Endy...the guy who in 2005 managed just 2 hits in his final 42 games played as a Phillie? That is about the sort of output the Phillies are getting from Bruntlett, and it's time to fix this void. Julio Lugo was designated for assignment last week by the Red Sox and is expected to become a free agent. The Metropolitans are rumored to be interested. Why wouldn't the Phillies be interested in a guy who could surely outhit Bruntlett? Lugo was hitting .284 through 37 games played this season with Boston. Suspended Lehigh Valley IronPig Pablo Ozuna is eligible to return next Wednesday. Ozuna is batting .294 through 51 games at triple A. Miguel Cairo is also...

Yankees Fans Misled By Pepsi Promotion

**** Today, New York Yankees fans attended a Pepsi promotion in Times Square hoping for chances to win opening day tickets to the new stadium, but the tickets, which were difficult to track down due to poor organization on Pepsi's part, were actually for a game in June. Furthermore, the 250 pairs that were promised were actually only 100 pairs. The fans, who were made to sprint through traffic over multiple city blocks when locations for the promotion changed, quickly turned against the soda brand by pooring out their beverages and chanting anti-Pepsi phrases. Yankees fans are even threatening a boycott of Pepsi. An appearance by Yankee great Goose Gossage could not even settle the angry mob, as he had to be whisked away, as a precaution, according to the Daily News . Ooo , I'd hate to see what "the worst fans in sports" (Philadelphia fans) would have done to their free Pepsi cans and beloved reliever in that situation. Because this happened in a non-Philly city, th...

5th spot, Wall, Old timers, Links

The race for the Phillies' fifth starter spot is still on. While it's not fully fair to compare Grapefruit League stats, when some of the pitchers have had "B game" and scrimmage outings mixed in, Kyle Kendrick and Carlos Carrasco look to be falling behind Chan Ho Park and "Jay" Happ. Happ added to his solid Grapefruit League stats (2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP in 4 games) today against the Rays. Pitching coach Rich Dubee had been displeased with Kendrick even before he surrendered 8 earned runs in 3 innings of work yesterday against the Braves. Park has been working on improving his change up, with (Coach) Jamie Moyer. Park noticed Moyer's location control on his change, so he sought out Moyer to teach him the grip and positioning of the ball. Moyer, of course, feels good about helping anyone on the Phils' staff. Park has been coached by greats like Nolan Ryan with the Rangers and Sandy Koufax with the Dodgers, so Moyer is in great company. Park is working h...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog