PHILADELPHIA _ In a week, Maikel Franco will turn 24. He has logged 211 games in the majors and, while the expectations of him as a lineup cornerstone have not diminished, the Phillies third baseman has existed in a frustrating state for much of this season.
His helmet flies on wild swings and misses. He has reached base at a clip below the league average. He is susceptible to defensive lapses.
But Franco can change the game with one prodigious swing, as he did Thursday in the seventh inning of a 5-4 win over Los Angeles. He crushed a two-run homer into the shrubbery beyond the center-field wall. It pushed the Phillies ahead of one of the better teams in baseball.
They salvaged one game, just as they did last week at Dodger Stadium.
Franco's 22nd homer of the season did it. He is subjected to closer scrutiny than others on this rebuilding roster because the Phillies envision great things for him. Front-office officials and coaches see a hitter whose plate discipline will improve with experience. He is someone who could benefit with a few more power threats around him.
For now, they are happy to see Franco adjust to the challenges that big-league pitchers offer.
Context is important. Franco's 22 homers are the eighth-highest total in team history for a player in his age-23-or-younger season. He trails seasons by Scott Rolen, Don Hurst, Willie Montanez, Del Ennis, Greg Luzinski, Dick Allen, and Johnny Callison. Only Rolen, Hurst, Montanez, and Ennis reached 30 homers. That is an attainable goal for Franco with 40 games remaining. He is on pace for 29 home runs.
Pete Mackanin's lineup changed less than 30 minutes before first pitch. His leadoff hitter, Cesar Hernandez, was scratched. Taylor Featherston assumed second base. The Phillies did not provide a reason for Hernandez's late absence.
Featherston, who mustered just two singles in his first 22 at-bats, slashed a run-scoring double to center in the fourth inning. It scored Aaron Altherr, who singled twice and stole a base. Mackanin batted Altherr seventh, the lowest he's been in 19 games since rejoining the team, to send a message.
"I don't want them to think, 'No matter what I do I'm hitting second, third or fourth,' " Mackanin said. "You have to earn that."
The Phillies trailed, 3-0, three batters into the game. When Justin Turner popped a three-run homer to left, Jerad Eickhoff was stunned. It sounded like a routine fly out. It looked like one until leftfielder Jimmy Paredes had no more room and glanced upward. Corey Seager grinned as he circled the bases in front of Turner.
Six innings later, when Eickhoff departed with a one-run deficit, the Turner home run lingered as a defining moment. However, Eickhoff provided the Phillies six solid innings _ the first time in nine games a starter went that deep _ but nothing more.
The Phillies have played 20 straight games without a seven-inning outing from one of their starting pitchers.
Eickhoff, though, has remained the one constant. He is the only Phillies starter to not miss time or be removed from a game with an ailment. He has taken the ball every fifth day and pitched to a 3.91 ERA.
