Vander Franco’s debut is a show

S.D. PETERSBURG – Debuting as a major league player, Vander Franco quickly revealed the skills that made him the best prospect in the game of baseball.

In the fifth inning of his main league debut on Tuesday at Tropicana Field on Tuesday, the Dominican split Homer by three runs against Venezuela’s southern Eduardo Rodriguez on the left field. It was the first win for many who came to the race switch hitter, he hit a double in the seventh inning and made a smart play in the eighth, cheering the crowd of 12,994, they cheered louder than usual. Franco left the cave for his hot workouts.

“I felt like they were giving me a lot of support,” Franco said. “A lot of people came to see how I played. God sent me a surprise. “

Franco’s sensational debut was not enough to prevent Race from losing seven straight games, falling 9-5 in 11 innings.

Batting with pace and zero outs with two runners in the fifth inning, Franco pulled Rodriguez Slider to a 362-foot home run on the left field.

“I knew I could run home with that turn,” Franco said. “That’s the pitch I was looking for.”

On his first trip to the plate as a key league player in the first inning, he tainted the first two pitches he saw. He then missed four pitches in a row and was further praised as he went to the first floor.

Franco scored his first run of the inning as Randy Arosarena loaded the bases with an out-of-the-box singles, and then Quito’s Francisco Mejia singled on the left field.

Franco started the third inning with a flying ball. In the seventh inning, he sent a low slider from left-hander Josh Taylor to the left field, which came off the bat at 105.3 mph.

In addition, he contributed with the glove. Rafael Towers, who raced from second to third at a Hunter Renfro Ground with an out in the eighth inning, had a natural shortcut to playing on the third floor – touching the Towers to get him out, and then making an accurate shot. To the first site to catch Renfro.

If there are nerves, Franco knows how to cover it.

“I’ve been playing a lot of baseball with pressure like this since I was little and I know how to control it,” said Bonnie native.

Thus officially began the era of Race Vander Franco.