TORONTO — With a no-hit bid intact and 111 pitches thrown, Bowden Francis took the mound for the top of the ninth inning.
Only three outs separated him from Blue Jays history, and even if his arm was tiring and his stuff was diminishing he had a real chance at making history. Entering Saturday, the only no-hitter in Blue Jays franchise history belonged to Dave Stieb, the seven-time all-star, who held Cleveland hitless on Sept. 2, 1990, after many near misses. With a few more pitches, Francis had a chance to join him.
But Angels leadoff hitter Taylor Ward worked a tough at-bat to lead off the ninth, and on Francis’s 117th pitch of the day, he left a 91 m.p.h. fastball over the outside corner. Ward crushed it over the left-centre field wall, and the no-hit bid ended.
Within moments, the Blue Jays went to the bullpen for Chad Green while Francis left the field to a standing ovation. Three outs later, the Blue Jays had a 3-1 win in which they allowed just one hit. But even if no history was made Saturday, this was a stunning performance that delighted the crowd of 34,011 at Rogers Centre.
Francis struck out 12 and walked three while allowing just one hit — Ward’s home run. While Toronto relievers warmed up behind him as the game progressed, manager John Schneider elected to let Francis keep pitching on his way to a new career high in pitches.
The outing offers a reminder of the potential Francis offers, as the 28-year-old consistently worked ahead of Angels hitters, located his fastball well and relied heavily on his splitter to induce weak contact. It’s a highly encouraging step for a pitcher sure to factor in the Blue Jays’ 2025 rotation plans.
While the workload represented a career high for Francis, the Blue Jays already had plans in place to ensure their starting pitchers get extra rest down the stretch. While the rotation may make one more start on regular rest, there are five off days in September, and the likes of Jake Bloss, Ryan Yarbrough and Paolo Espino could be inserted into the rotation at times.
“If we can keep the starters on an extra day going forward, I think that’s something we would like to do,” Schneider said. “There’s a handful of guys that we’re kind of targeting.”
That extra rest should help everyone from veteran starters like Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt and Jose Berrios to those establishing themselves in the rotation like Francis and Yariel Rodríguez.
Offensively, the Blue Jays did just enough to support Francis. In the first inning, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove home Daulton Varsho, who had reached on a single and advanced to third on some comically sloppy defence by the Angels. Two batters later, Joey Loperfido doubled home Guerrero Jr. for the game’s second run, as the left fielder’s hot hitting continued.
Later, Guerrero Jr. would add an insurance run with a no-doubt home run to centre field, his 27th of the season.
Thanks to Francis, that was more than enough.
