MiLB Pitcher of the Day: Tanner Franklin
THE CARDINAL CHRONICLE
MiLB Pitcher of the Day: Tanner Franklin, Fans 8 in Strong Start for Peoria
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
Tanner Franklin deserved a better ending Saturday night.
Franklin is the Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day after giving Peoria five strong innings in the Chiefs’ 6-3 loss to West Michigan at Dozer Park.
His final line:
5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
That is a winning pitching line, even if the box score did not reward him with the win.
Franklin gave Peoria exactly what it needed from a starter. He limited West Michigan to just two hits, allowed only one earned run, walked one and struck out eight. He threw 79 pitches, 49 for strikes, and kept the Whitecaps’ lineup under control through five innings.
The Chiefs gave him a lead in the fourth when Anyelo Encarnación launched a three-run home run, putting Peoria ahead 3-0. Franklin gave one run back in the fifth, but he left the game with the Chiefs still in front, 3-1.
That should have been enough.
Unfortunately for Peoria, the bullpen could not hold it. West Michigan scored once in the sixth, three times in the seventh and once more in the eighth to turn Franklin’s strong start into a frustrating loss.
Still, the performance on the mound should not get buried in the final score.
Franklin missed bats, worked efficiently enough to complete five innings, and kept the ball in the park. He faced 17 batters, struck out eight of them, and forced West Michigan to chase the game while he was on the mound.
That is the kind of start a club can build around.
Peoria pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts on the night, but Franklin set the tone. His fastball played, his secondary stuff missed bats, and he kept the Whitecaps from putting together any real traffic until the fifth.
There is always a little sting when a starter does his job and the game slips away later. But development does not always show up cleanly in the win-loss column. Sometimes it shows up in the line, in the strikeouts, in the command, and in the ability to give your club a chance.
Franklin did all of that Saturday.
Five innings.
Two hits.
One earned run.
Eight strikeouts.
That is a strong night’s work.
And even in a Peoria loss, it earned him the spotlight.
Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day:
Tanner Franklin, RHP, Peoria Chiefs
Final Line: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
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Photo Credit: Tanner Franklin, Peoria Chiefs | MiLB