Franklin makes case to remain in rotation
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Ryan Franklin wants to keep his spot in Seattle’s rotation. If he keeps performing the way he did Friday, he’ll get it.
The right-hander allowed two hits over five strong, scoreless innings and slugger Richie Sexson hit his first home run of spring training, a two-run shot, as Seattle lost 4-3 to San Francisco.
Seattle is considering making Franklin into a long reliever, a role he filled earlier in his career, after two full seasons in the rotation. He promised all spring to make it a tough choice, and on this day he sure looked like a starter.
“He made a pretty strong case,” manager Mike Hargrove said.
Franklin threw plenty of first-pitch strikes and consistently kept the ball down. He relied heavily on sinkers, mixing in curveballs and sliders along with a split-fingered fastball.
“Growing up, it’s always been all-out from the get-go,” said Franklin, who had three strikeouts. “I’d give 110 percent every time. Now, I’ve kind of learned to be more in control. It keeps my focus better.”
It didn’t hurt Franklin’s chances that one of the pitchers brought in to challenge him, right-hander Jorge Campillo, had a rough time.
A standout from the Mexican League, Campillo allowed three runs on four hits in 1 1/3 innings as the Giants tied it at 3 in the eighth, then won in the ninth on Yorvit Torrealba’s bases-loaded RBI single.
Sexson put Seattle ahead 2-0 in the sixth. He was 4 for 24 coming in, a skid that included a 0-for-18 streak, but drove a 2-2 pitch from reliever Jesse Foppert, sending it just inside the left foul pole.
“It felt good. Your competitive side takes over, and you always want to do well down the stretch,” Sexson said. “You always want to do well, but you’ve got to realize you might not. So you just go out every day and keep trying.”
“He’s a power hitter, and power hitters swing and miss a lot,” Hargrove said of Sexson. “That’s going to happen. When he connects, he usually connects pretty good.”
Franklin was solid. He allowed a two-out double by Pedro Feliz in the first, and Michael Tucker hit a one-out single in the second.
Franklin retired eight straight batters over the next three innings, before issuing a two-out walk to Marquis Grissom in the fifth. But he came back with an inside sinker that got Mike Matheny on a called strikeout to end the inning.
Notes
Left-hander Eddie Guardado (hamstring) and right-hander Joel Pineiro (shoulder stiffness) threw in the bullpen, with neither reporting problems. Pineiro will pitch in a minor league game Monday. … Shortstop Pokey Reese made his first start since taking a four-day break for undisclosed personal business. He singled in two at-bats. … Seattle reassigned to minor league camp right-hander Masao Kida and catcher Kit Pellow, a former player for the Spokane Indians.