A WEEK EARLIER, when Maikel Franco blitzed out of the batter's box in pain, dropped to the ground behind home plate at Chase Field, and rolled around in considerable pain, it looked like a fastball from Jeremy Hellickson had broken the rookie third baseman's hand.
But an X-ray that night (Aug. 11 in Arizona) came back negative and Franco was hopeful he would return to the Phillies' lineup over the weekend in Milwaukee. That never happened.
So when Franco and the Phillies returned home on Sunday night, after he missed four straight games, they decided to seek a second opinion.