The Phillies' lack of hustle has become an issue throughout the season and on Wednesday's 94WIP Morning Show, manager Gabe Kapler admitted that he benched Maikel Franco for not running out a ground ball on Monday night.
"What happened with Maikel is I brought him into the video room and I took a look at the play where he hit the ground ball to the left side of the infield and didn't run as hard as he can down to first base. And as a result, the throw took (Dodgers') Max Muncy off the bag and there was a potential that he would have been safe and extended that inning.
"First thing Maikel did, was he took full responsibility for the action. He said, 'Look I had a hard time sleeping last night. I still can't stop thinking about it today. I know I hurt the team.' And he was extremely accountable, extremely apologetic.
"I said, 'Maikel, I know you have the groin that was a little bit tight, but I still can't play you today. I wouldn't be able to play you if it was because of a tight groin because we would need to extend you another day, but I still can't play you today because of that action.'"
Kapler says he addressed the team about a month ago during their trip in Washington D.C. about the team's hustling issue.
"And part of the stems from after some of the incidents earlier, when we were in Washington D.C," Kapler explained. "I addressed the team and let them know it wasn't something that we were going to accept. And we were going to look at everything on a case by case basis. Also, pay very close attention to who got motivated by what and how, because obviously not every case is exactly the same. And I decided that that was important enough to make that decision."
Franco had one pinch-hit at-bat on Tuesday night and grounded out to third base. Fortunately, the Phillies got a much needed 9-8 walk off win.