Rays shortstop Wander Franco missed the past two games after being benched by the organization for disciplinary reasons. Sidelined on Thursday and Friday for the first two games of Tampa Bay’s four-game series against the Royals, Franco returned to action on Saturday.
In his first at-bat of the game, Franco launched a solo shot off Jordan Lyles in the bottom of the first inning, smacking a hanging breaking ball out to deep center field, clearing the wall to open the scoring for Tampa.
It was a loud return to the lineup for Franco, who was penciled in as the No. 2 hitter for the Rays, and he picked up another hit in his second at-bat in the second inning.
