NEW YORK – And on the fifth day, the Phillies best player was on the bench nursing an injury.
Yes, the Phillies winless start to the 2016 seasons has changed venues from the cloudy, chilly environs of Cincinnati to the …. cloudy, chilly environs of Flushing, New York. And the Phillies will take on the reigning National League champion New York Mets in a matinee with Maikel Franco out of the starting lineup.
Franco was struck by a 92-MPH fastball with one out in the ninth inning of Thursday’s game. Afterward, he said it was fine and wasn’t anything that was severe enough to require any further testing.
But, not surprisingly, the elbow is still sore less than 24 hours later and it’s difficult to imagine he'd be able to loosen it up at Citi Field, where the temperature was in the 40s. And so, Franco sits.
“It’s not a big deal,” manager Pete Mackanin told reporters of sitting Franco.
Franco will likely return to his place in the middle of the lineup and at third base this weekend. Andres Blanco started in his place in the infield on Friday, when Mackanin has a Venezuelan flavor in his lineup (four of the top five hitters are natives of Venezuela).