Phillies’ Maikel Franco benched for not hustling

Maikel Franco was benched by the Philadelphia Phillies for Tuesday’s game over a lack of hustle he showed the day before.

Franco was batting with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the third Monday with his team up 1-0. He hit a weak grounder and was thrown out at first. He barely gave any effort running down the line:

Franco with an A+ effort for the #Phillies pic.twitter.com/RNzasMPRJY

— Bill Logan (@blogan22) July 16, 2019

Franco was replaced in Tuesday’s lineup at third by Brad Miller. Phillies manager Gabe Kapler somewhat tried to cover for Franco, saying that the infielder has a groin injury that is preventing him from giving full effort.

Maikel Franco has been benched tonight, but Gabe Kapler said it’s in part because he has a groin issue and can’t give a 100 percent effort. That’s what he is saying anyway.

— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) July 16, 2019

Is the groin issue an excuse for not hustling or the reason for it? Either way, the Phillies decided if Franco can’t run better than that, he shouldn’t be playing.