ST. PETERSBURG – After extending his historic streak to 33 games, Dominican shortstop Wander Franco of the Rays had to leave the last of the series against the Red Sox during the seventh inning on Thursday night at Tropicana Field cause of headaches.
Franco touched his right ear during his trip to the plate against Venezuelan left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez and at one point came out of the baton to talk to manager Kevin Cash and a member of the trainers staff of the Rays. However, Franco ended the turn.
But after taking the bad fourth, Franco pointed out to the Rays dugout that he needed to get out of the game. He was replaced at first base by emerging runner Joey Wendle.
Franco stayed on the field long enough to add another significant milestone. Among players 20 years of age or younger, Franco’s 33-game streak is now tied for the third longest in LA / LN history with Pirates’ Arky Vaughan (July 12-August 10, 1932) and Mel Ott of the New York Giants (August 24-October 6, 1929).
Regardless of age, Franco’s streak is the longest for a novice torpedo boat since Dominican Hanley Ramirez had one of 36 games for the Marlins in 2006. In addition, it is the longest active chain in the Majors, the longest for a rookie in Rays history and the longest for a Rays player since Johnny Damon had one of 39 games in 2011.