PHILADELPHIA � Maikel Franco glared toward the pitcher's mound Saturday night and for a moment it looked as if emotions were ready to boil over during the hottest game of the season. The dugouts emptied. The bullpens did, too. But the fourth-inning drama ended there in a 6-3 win over the Colorado Rockies.
Franco was upset after being hit by a pitch on the shin by Rockies pitcher Tyler Anderson, who was immediately ejected by home-plate umpire Eric Cooper. The pitcher tried to explain himself to Franco, who stood near home plate and stared through Anderson as he removed his equipment. Rockies manager Walt Weiss would also be ejected. Cooper appeared to have little patience during a game which started under a sweltering 93-degree heat.
The players from both teams met near the first base line for nothing more than an animated discussion. Anderson said he did not intentionally throw at Franco. But he may have been a bit upset with how Franco styled his three-run homer in the first.
Franco watched his blast with his bat extended and then skipped on home plate and gave a leaping high five to Tommy Joseph. The home run _ Franco's 21st of the season _ traveled 421 feet to center field. Cesar Hernandez, who reached base safely for the 20th straight game, and Tommy Joseph scored.
Was it just a coincidence that Anderson drilled Franco on the first pitch of his next at-bat?
The drama continued into the sixth as Jerad Eickhoff nearly let a four-run slip away. Daniel Descalso tagged him for a two-run home run and Tony Wolters followed two batters later with a homer to right. Chris Rusin, the pitcher, then drilled a two-out a triple to center.
The Phillies' lead had dwindled to one and the tying run was on third. That was it for Eickhoff and Colorado's rally was eventually quelled by Luis Garcia, who kept it interesting by hitting the first batter he faced.
Eickhoff allowed three runs on 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out three and walked two. The pitcher stranded two runners in both the first and second innings and left the bases loaded in the fifth. His luck ran out in the sixth, an inning that has proved to be a challenge this season. Eickhoff has a 12.71 ERA this season in the sixth and has reached the inning in 21 of his 23 starts.
The Phillies tacked on two more runs in the seventh. Aaron Altherr drove in Hernandez, who finished 2 for 4 for his second straight two-hit game. Hernandez is batting .333 in his last 20 games with a .450 on-base percentage. Joseph then drove in Peter Bourjos with a sacrifice fly to center, which was about a foot away from clearing the fence.
The three-run lead provided added comfort for Jeanmar Gomez, who allowed runners to reach second and third with one out in the ninth. He faced Nolan Arenado _ owner of 30 home runs _ with the game on the line. But that drama, too, proved to be short lived. Gomez struck out Arenado and David Dahl to seal the win. The drama was over.
