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

Sunday School: Phillies History Lesson 73

Danny Ozark was the Phillies' manager from 1973-1979. During his tenure as the team's general, Ozark led Philadelphia to three straight division titles. In his playing days, Ozark was a first baseman, who was a career minor leaguer in the Dodgers system. When Ozark took over the team in 1973, the Phillies were fresh off 5 consecutive losing seasons and 3 straight last place finishes. During his first season in charge, the Phillies would again finish in last place, 20 games under .500, but as his core of young talent, like Mike Schmidt and Larry Bowa, developed, the Phillies' win totals rose. Within 2 years, the Phillies were above .500 and in the playoff hunt until late in the season and the most successful era of Phillies history was about to begin. By 1976, the Phillies were headed to the post-season for the first time since 1950. The Phils would enjoy a 10-game lead over their nearest division rival at the midway point of the season. Despite a lul, which saw their lead d...

PhoulBallz Interview: First round pick Bryson Stott

Bryson Stott, image- Jay Floyd Shortstop Bryson Stott , the Phillies' first round draft selection this year, has enjoyed a successful initial pro campaign. En route to being recognized as an All-Star for the Class A short-season Williamsport Crosscutters the 21-year-old UNLV product has tallied a .295 average with six home runs and 25 RBI in 45 minor league contests. Last week I spoke with the lefty hitting Stott to discuss his transition to professional baseball, joining the Phillies organization and plenty more. Read ahead for that interview. -Obviously, your performance and the production on the field is going well, but how do you feel you have adapted to the pro life? It feels good. You hear about the everyday grind, but you don't really believe it till you feel it. I would say that's the difference between college and the pros, is you're not practicing, you're playing games every day. I would say that's the biggest difference. But I...

Velasquez shut down, Eflin on deck?

Eflin with Reading in 2015, image- Jay Floyd Following Vincent Velasquez leaving his start after just two pitches for the Phillies on Wednesday, righty prospect Zach Eflin was pulled from his start for Triple-A Lehigh Valley at Gwinnett. The 22-year-old sports a 5-1 record with a 3.14 ERA and a .210 batting average against in 10 starts for the IronPigs this season. He could take the place of Velasquez if he is required to miss any additional time. Initial word on Velasquez after he threw two fastballs that clocked in the 86-87 MPH range (considerably slower than the 94 MPH he averages) and was swiftly pulled from his outing, is that he has a biceps strain. He'll be further evaluated in the coming days. Prior to the regular season, Eflin got a taste of competing against big leaguers when he was charged with 12 runs (nine earned) on 11 hits while striking out two and walking one with a wild pitch in three innings of work in an intrasquad exhibition that pitted the Phils...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog