Bowden Francis flirts with no-hitter in Blue Jays win

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No longer is it a question whether Bowden Francis can pitch. Nor is it whether the big right-hander deserves to be part of the Blue Jays’ 2025 roster.

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After coming within three outs of a no-hitter on Saturday afternoon at the Rogers Centre, the questions involve what role Francis takes on to fully optimize his skills and what moves the franchise ultimately makes this off-season knowing he should be an option for the rotation.

His eight-inning, 12-strikeout masterpiece in a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels makes it three dazzling starts in a row for the 28-year-old swingman.

The caveat, however, is the sample size over that stretch — 22 innings — and the quality of opposition Francis faced. In Anaheim on Aug. 12, he was stellar, allowing one run and one hit in seven innings. In Chicago against the Cubs six days later, he was equally superb with seven shutout frames.

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On Saturday at the Rogers Centre, Francis picked up where he left off on the road, carrying his no-hit bid into the ninth despite having already thrown a career-high 111 pitches.

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The no-no opportunity, and the shutout, were dashed however when leadoff man Taylor Ward worked the count full before crushing a Francis fastball over a leaping Daulton Varsho and the centre-field bullpen fence for a home run.

Needless to say, Saturday’s outing was the finest of Francis’ career.

Through seven innings, Francis had struck out 12, while walking three as his pitch count reached 97.

In the eighth, he induced three fly balls as the crowd of 34,011 really got into it, the anticipation of witnessing a the no-hitter in Blue Jays history increasing.

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At the same time, Toronto’s two-run lead wasn’t exactly out of reach.

It increased to three, however, when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drilled his 27th homer of the season over the centre-field wall.

Suddenly, Francis was provided with some margin for error and no excuse for manager John Schneider not to let him pitch in the ninth.

Once the Jays finished their at-bats in the eighth, the crowd fully embraced what potentially awaited and when Francis emerged from the dugout, the roar ramped up.

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But the drama ended quickly and, with the no-hitter no longer possible, Francis was replaced by Chad Green and soaked in the adulation as the fans gave him a much-deserved standing ovation.

Close but no cigar, but in the end, Francis’ outing only reinforced the work he has put in and the results that have followed.

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On the day, he threw a career-high 117 pitches, including 84 for strikes to improve his record to 7-3 and lower his ERA to 4.02.

Named player of the week in the wake of his starts in SoCal and the Windy City, Francis has now won three in a row and only looks to be getting better. In his past three outings, covering those 22 innings, he has allowed just two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out 27.

AROUND THE BASES

The Jays gave their starter an early 2-0 lead in the first inning on doubles by Guerrero and Joey Loperfido, who just missed another homer by inches when he sent a rocket off the top of the wall in right-centre … The win was the sixth in a row for Toronto over the Angels this season. The Jays will look to wrap up their second sweep in a row over the Halos on Sunday afternoon with Kevin Gausman starting … Four starts ago, Francis’ ERA was a lamentable 5.64 … Ernie Clement was hitting leadoff for this game with George Springer getting the day off … Toronto’s order also had Spencer Horwitz at cleanup followed by Loperfido with Leo Jimenez moving up to the No. 6 hole. The bottom of the order was Addison Barger, Davis Schneider and Brian Serven, who started behind home plate.

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