Franco’s rocky season continues with trip to IL
The latest twist in Maikel Franco’s tumultuous season has him on the IronPigs’ injured list with a bruised left hand.
The third baseman was hit by an 0-2 pitch from Charlotte’s Juan Minaya in the ninth inning of Lehigh Valley’s loss on Friday. Franco did not play Saturday.
“It’s just a big bruise,” IronPigs manager Gary Jones said. “It’s sore, he’ll be down four, five days.”
“He should be good to go when we come off this road trip.”
Left-handed relief pitcher Josh Tols (ankle bruise) was activated from the injured list to take Franco’s roster spot. He picked up his first Triple-A victory Sunday after working one scoreless inning in relief of Damon Jones in a 6-3 Lehigh Valley win over Charlotte.
Franco was 1-for-7 with a walk and hit batter in two games with Lehigh Valley after being demoted by Philadelphia.
The 26-year-old slashed .231/.296/ .405 in 333 at-bats with the Phillies before sent down to Triple-A earlier this month.
Rotation: Jerad Eickhoff (right biceps tendinitis) starts Tuesday in Game 1 at Louisville. He’ll be on a limit of about 60 pitches, then Cole Irvin will piggyback.
The rest of the road trip: Dan Straily on Wednesday; Enyel De Los Santos on Thursday; Jo Jo Romero in Game 1 Friday in Indianapolis followed by a bullpen start in Game 2; Ramon Rosso on Saturday and Damon Jones on Sunday.
Eickhoff ’s next rehab start likely is Sunday in Double-A Reading against Trenton.
Game notes: Nick Williams’ first
inning double extended his hitting streak to seven games. He has at least one hit in 32 of 35 Triple-A games this year. His two-run home run in the seventh, a 428-footer, gave the IronPigs a 5-2 cushion. …. Shane Robinson (6 games) and Rob Brantly (5) also extended hitting streaks with second-inning singles. … Phil Gosselin ended an 0-for-12 skid with a secondinning single. He also doubled, walked and made a stellar defensive play in the fifth inning, diving to his right to snare Charlie Tilson’s hard grounder and getting the out to the Knights’ threat. … Andrew Romine (0-for-4) saw his 10game hitting streak end. … Crew chief Jeremy Riggs left in the top of second inning with an illness, leaving a two-man umpiring crew for the rest of the game. … Home plate umpire Travis Godec ejected Charlotte left fielder Danny Mendick and manager Mark Grudzielanek after Godec called Mendick out on strikes to end the top of the third. Grudzielanek argued a call first-base umpire Scott Costello made in the bottom of the second. Costello ruled Williams safe at first on a two-out infield grounder (which scored a run). Replay showed that Williams was out. … Lehigh Valley pitchers issued six walks, increasing its International League lead to 478. It also hit a batter, giving the IronPigs an IL-most 76 this season. … The IronPigs offense was 5 for 12 Sunday with runners in scoring position. They were 3 for 27 (.111) in their previous four games with a total of five runs scored and a team batting average of .183. … Sunday’s win ended a three-game losing streak and stopped Charlotte’s six-game winning streak.
Sunday’s starter: Damon Jones’ inability to pitch deep into games continued Sunday. He left after 42⁄3 innings (91 pitches, 57 strikes).
“He’s got to find a way to be more efficient with his pitches,” manager Gary Jones said. “If you throw 100 pitches to get through five innings, that’s 20 pitches an inning. That’s too many.
“He knows he’s got about 90 pitches [each start]. He was over 90 at that point. He’s got to throw more strikes to be able to pitch deeper into games.”
The 24-year-old lefty has not pitched beyond five innings in any of his last six starts, including his first five at Triple-A. Jones has a 1.43 WHIP (including 24 walks) and a 5.05 ERA in his last seven starts. He has walked at least two in every one of those outings.
Looking ahead: The IronPigs’ final homestand of 2019, a seven-gamer, begins Monday, Aug. 26, against Syracuse. They are 31-31 this season at Coca-Cola Park, 448-402 in their 12 years in east Allentown.