Wander's game draws high praise from Sale

ST. PETERSBURG -- It was not a pitch that should have been hit out, Chris Sale said. The Red Sox's ace fired a 94.5 mph fastball outside the strike zone, 3.44 feet off the ground, presumably too far up and away for Wander Franco to do anything with it.

And yet …

Franco connected with Sale’s heater, hitting it out to right field at 95.2 mph. The ball cleared the right-field fence, traveling a projected 348 feet, according to Statcast, and Franco pointed in celebration after clubbing his seventh home run, which extended his historic on-base streak to 32 games. In the Rays’ dugout, manager Kevin Cash turned to pitching coach Kyle Snyder and said, “He's really good, and he's going to be really, really good.”

Sale had similar praise for Tampa Bay’s switch-hitting 20-year-old shortstop after Boston’s 3-2 win on Wednesday night. The seven-time All-Star gave up two runs, both on Franco’s homer, over six innings, and he said it was the kind of shot “you don’t lose sleep over, honestly.” It was a credit to Franco.

“That’s not a home run pitch. He’s not supposed to hit that ball out. That was me vs. him, and he won,” Sale said. “That’s one of those cliché moments where you tip your cap, but it’s true. Not too many guys can get to that. Not many guys can: A, get to it; and, B, hit it out. … It’s not like I hung a breaking ball or threw it right down the middle. He earned it.”

Franco’s earning a lot of praise lately, but Sale’s compliment clearly meant a lot to him.

“I know I'm fresh out into the game, but for a guy like that, a veteran player to say something like that, it's very special,” Franco said Thursday afternoon through interpreter Manny Navarro.

That comes with the territory with Franco’s on-base streak, which is the longest active one in the Majors and the longest by a rookie in Rays history. Franco kept it alive on Saturday with an RBI single in the first inning against the Twins to make it 34 games.

Among players 20 years old or younger, it’s also third-longest on-base streak in AL/NL history, the second-longest streak in AL history and the longest single-season streak in AL history.

“I'm fully aware. I just try not to think about it,” Franco said. “I just come out here and try to do my job.”

Lately, he’s made it look easy. Entering Saturday, Franco had gone 34 plate appearances since his last strikeout, which came in the eighth inning of the Rays’ 3-1 win in Philadelphia on Aug. 24. He had struck out only twice in his previous 75 plate appearances, inspiring memories of the stretch in his Minor League career when he went nearly two weeks without swinging and missing at a single pitch.

“I think everybody that has anything to do with baseball knew that he was capable of this. It was just a matter of when it happened,” fellow rookie infielder Taylor Walls said on Wednesday. “He's a special player, a special talent. I mean, everybody knows that. It's incredible to see the run he's on. I hope it lasts all year long. I mean, it's crazy. It's honestly an honor to be able to play next to him, and hopefully we can keep everything going and I can be right there with him.”

It’s also another example of Franco settling into his comfort zone in the Majors. In his first 15 games with the Rays, he struck out 15 times. He had a three-strikeout game and a four-strikeout game, something he never experienced in the Minors.

But in 40 games between the All-Star break and Wednesday, Franco struck out only 19 times in 176 plate appearances. In August, he had more walks (nine) than strikeouts (eight). If there was ever any question, yes, this is the same player who earned an 80-grade hit tool from MLB Pipeline.

“Early on, I was just trying to get my confidence, trying to adapt to the whole new scenery, the whole new team,” Franco said. “And I think ever since then, that confidence is there and I've adapted well.”

Cash also credited Franco for improving defensively, the result of his natural talent but also his work with third-base coach Rodney Linares. When he first arrived, Franco tended to let balls come to him. Recently, he’s been more aggressive coming in on ground balls. Those improvements showed during what Cash called an “outstanding” defensive game by Franco on Wednesday.

“Comfort helps, so I think he's very comfortable here. I hope he is,” Cash added. “Everybody's worked hard to put their arm around him as much as possible to let him know how special he is to us and what a big part of the club he is, and now he's just going out and playing.”