Maybe all Maikel Franco needed was a lineup demotion to get going.

It was his eighth consecutive appearance at the eight spot, with Franco recording nine hits in his first 21 at-bats. Last night in the team’s 7-3 win against the Mets, he went 2 for 4 with a three-run home run and an RBI single to bolster the Phillies’ offense.

Since the start of the month, he’s had a hit in every game he’s started besides Monday’s second game of the doubleheader against the Mets. That’s usually a good sign.

Rhys Hoskins and Nick Williams each had three hits, with Williams driving in two runs in the third. Hoskins, who ditched the double-flap helmet, also ran into the wall early in the game after missing a ball in left field. He had a little fun with that afterwards:

Enyel De Los Santos had a very solid major league debut, going 6 1/3 innings and giving up three runs on five hits with six strikeouts. He was sent back down to Triple-A following the game.

Oh, and the Phils are alone atop the NL East with the Braves falling to the Blue Jays last night.

Vince Velasquez will make his return to the mound tonight in the final game of the four-game series against the Mets. First pitch is at 7:10 PM on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

The team is still looking at Manny Machado as their top trade target. But if they can’t get him, there are definitely plenty of other options for infielders.

The Crossed Up gang discuss this and more on their latest episode.

The Roundup:


Newest Sixer Wilson Chandler is ready to help out his new team this upcoming season:

Chandler, acquired in a trade with the Nuggets last week, wasn’t just impressed with the Sixers’ hustle. He spoke glowingly of the franchise’s two young stars — Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. He also singled out JJ Redick, Dario Saric and Robert Covington as players he’s looking forward to joining.

He didn’t drop a “Trust the Process” during the call but did come to the defense of former GM Sam Hinkie’s strategy and where it’s gotten the current team.

“First of all, I think the organization deserves more credit,” he said. “They had a couple years where a lot of people were giving them s— about ‘what are they doing?’ and all that stuff, but they’ve done a great job putting a team together. They have two young stars … I think Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid are future stars. In my eyes, they’re really good right now but they’re future stars and I see big things for both of them and big things in general. They did a good job putting a lot of good, young talent together.”

We saw a little bit of Markelle Fultz’s new shot, but there are still a ton of questions that remain unanswered:

Josh Harris thinks LeBron James “very strongly” considered Philadelphia before signing with the Lakers. Brian Windhorst disagreed.

A local reporter found Bryan Colangelo’s unclaimed large collared dress shirts. And yes, the collars are a little bigger than normal.


For some reason, it was a day to trash the Eagles? First, Madden ratings came out with some questionable decisions, and then one reporter predicted the Birds won’t even make the playoffs.

The NFL Supplemental Draft is today, but should the Eagles take anyone?


In the FIFA World Cup, France got a second half goal from Samuel Umtiti to advance to the World Cup final on Sunday. They’ll play the winner of today’s England-Croatia game, which kicks off at 2 PM on Fox.

In other sports news, former Eagles and current Bills running back LeSean McCoy was accused of beating his girlfriend. TMZ released audio of a 911 call related to the accusations and the attorney representing McCoy’s girlfriend released a statement. The running back denied all the allegations.

Jon Marks had a clever response to Mike Missanelli’s accusations of Marks using burner accounts.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver thinks Golden State’s dominance is not bad for the league.


In the news, wearing neckties could reduce blood-flow to the brain. Jim Gardner wasn’t taking any chances. All hail the goat.

President Trump doesn’t like Germany.

Could flying trains be coming soon?