Chris Bassitt had his teammate’s back on Sunday. Literally.
Blue Jays pitcher Bowden Francis came within three outs of a complete-game no-hitter against the Angels on Saturday in Toronto.
Despite this, the man who broke up the no-no, the Angels’ Taylor Ward, was less than complimentary after the game in an interview with MLB.com’s Julia Kreuz, saying he “thought everything was hittable,” with respect to Francis and “I didn’t think it was anything special,” with respect to the pitcher’s performance.
Fast forward 24 hours and, as Francis was being interviewed during the game by the Sportsnet broadcast team of Dan Shulman and Joe Siddall, Bassitt suddenly appeared behind his teammate, holding a sign that read: “15 innings, 2 hits, 20 K’s, Hittable and Not Special.”
The numbers were in reference to Francis’s last two outings against the Angels. The rest were clearly a shot in the direction of Ward.
“That’s how Bassitt feels about Taylor Ward’s comments,” Shulman said, referencing the sign. “Chris Bassitt has entered the chat.”
Manager John Schneider said Bassitt and fellow right-hander Kevin Gausman have “kind of taken Bowden under their wing,” adding that he likes seeing his players stick up for each other.“I love when the guys have each other’s back,” Schneider said, “and I think Bowden’s results against (the Angels) speak for themselves.”
The 28-year-old Francis was named AL Player of the Week last week after going 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA in two starts. In the first of those, he pitched seven innings in a road win over the Angels on Aug. 12, allowing one run and one hit while striking out eight.
Ward struck out, was hit by a pitch and flew out before he connected for his 17th homer on Saturday.
— With files from The Canadian Press
