SEATTLE -- Occasionally, Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco shows flashes of the player he can be. And it excites manager Pete Mackanin.
Take the Phillies' 8-2 win over the Mariners on Tuesday, for example: Franco notched Philadelphia's first hit by roping a double to right field, hit a go-ahead solo home run off James Paxton in the seventh and made a diving stop on a hard-hit grounder from Jean Segura down the third-base line and completed the throw to save at least a run and retain the Phillies' lead.
The next step for Mackanin is to see that on a consistent basis from Franco, not just periodically.
"I keep waiting for it, and it's good to see little by little. I'd like to see him do it more often," Mackanin said. "But he's capable, we've seen him do it in the past."

Franco, once considered one of the top prospects in MLB, broke out of a horrid slump with his 2-for-4 performance. He was hitting .196 over his past 14 games entering Tuesday. It was also Franco's first game with multiple extra-base hits since April 20.
Franco's performance was bolstered by his defensive play, including his diving stop that helped Aaron Nola strand a pair of runners in the seventh.
"I don't know how I made that play," Franco said. "That's the little thing to win the ballgame. That situation, bottom seven, guys on first and second, it was a big play and I'm glad for me, and glad for Nola."

Franco said Nola gave him a big hug in the dugout and told him it was a "sick play."
"You have too much fun when you win and you play the game the right way," Franco said. "That's what the game is about."