Ol' Man River: Julio Franco

Last night Julio Franco became the oldest player in baseball to hit a home run, helping the Mets rally from a 2-1 defecit to defeat the Padres.

Franco, at 47 years 240 days, is by far the oldest player in the major leagues, and Thursday night he jumpstarted the Mets' rally with a home run that again inscribed him in baseball's record books. Franco ripped a two-run, opposite-field blast off Scott Linebrink that launched the Mets' six-run eighth inning and propelled them to a 7-2 comeback victory against the Padres.

This was a significant win for the Mets because the offense had been slumping. For the first time since 1996, the Mets had had two pitchers throw back to back complete games, and were facing a third with Jake Peavy on the mound. But thankfully the Mets got to him, and almost out of no where.

But as the Times says, there was set back:

The victory was somewhat tempered by the loss of Carlos Beltrán, who left the game in the fifth inning after feeling discomfort in his right hamstring. Beltrán said he will have a magnetic resonance imaging exam Friday morning to determine the extent of his injury.