Wayne

Franklin

The Brewers have an off day on Monday, meaning that Franklin would have started Tuesday on five days’ rest. The extra day allowed him to be available as a reliever yesterday.

Franklin was basically throwing on the side yesterday. He’ll get a start on Wednesday and remains the favorite to act as Milwaukee’s fourth starter.

The lefty has been told to practice pitching out of a windup during his rehab assignment in Fresno. He is eligible to come off the DL on Thursday.

Manager Joe Torre seems to like him, so Franklin will be back in September.

Jason Shiell was demoted to Richmond after a rough stretch in the rotation. Atlanta doesn’t need a fifth starter for a while, so Franklin will work in long relief.

The 32-year-old Franklin had a 2.36 ERA in 53 1/3 innings for Richmond, but he’s historically been awful in the majors. If the Braves really thought he’d help, he would have been up long before now.

Franklin is 4-1 with a 3.26 ERA in 11 starts since May 16, and the Brewers have won all six of his no decisions. We still don’t think he has any long-term value in NL-only leagues, but he is pitching quite well at the moment.

Franklin hadn’t pitched since Aug. 31 because of a sore back, and the Braves probably had a better bullpen because of it. The 32-year-old Franklin has allowed four runs in 5 1/3 innings for Atlanta this season.

This should earn him at least one more start. Franklin had a 5.97 ERA as a reliever before going on the DL three weeks ago and was awful as a starter for the Brewers last year, so he’s unlikely to experience much success down the stretch.

Not his best outing. This should conclude the experiment of using Franklin as a starter. The Giants can always bring back Brad Hennessey this weekend, and they still could be in the market for a pitcher. Any pitcher.