NEW YORK - There were indicators that Maikel Franco, who began Thursday hitless in his previous 21 at-bats, suffered from a bout of unluckiness. He's hit the ball, on average, harder than he did last season. He's struck out at a lower rate than a season ago. His batting average on balls in play was the fifth lowest among qualified hitters.
So, despite a lack of results, Franco clinged to the positives.
"That's why I'm still confident," he said. "That's why I have a lot of patience. . . . If you put the ball in play and stroke the ball really good and hit it hard, you worry about stuff you can control.