Joey Loperfido showcases power by hitting his first HR with the Jays

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With so much heavy lifting awaiting the Blue Jays this off-season — regardless of who ultimately calls the shots — an intriguing question involves Bowden Francis.

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Barring a trade, it would shock many if the right-hander isn’t part of the Blue Jays’ 2025 opening-day roster, but his precise role needs to be established.

Francis is only getting better. He has expanded his pitching repertoire and, for what it’s worth, his recent starts have been in line with the type of outings a staff ace might summon, as he makes a compelling case that he belongs in next year’s starting rotation.

On Sunday at Wrigley Field, Francis went seven shutout innings in a 1-0 Jays win over the Cubs.

He didn’t walk a batter and allowed just three hits — a dribbler and a bloop single back-to-back in the fourth inning, and a one-out double to Nico Hoerner in the seventh. But he recovered to retire Dansby Swanson on his seventh strikeout of the afternoon, then got Pete Crow-Armstrong to foul out, before turning things over to the bullpen.

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The only offence in the game came in the second inning when Joey Loperfido tagged Cubs starter Shota Imanaga for a two-out home run, as the newcomer’s touted power finally emerged.

Resorting to his fastball and splitter, Francis made it look almost too easy as he made his seventh start among 21 appearances this season and improved to 6-3. He threw 95 pitches, 71 for strikes, which neatly summed up why he was so successful.

In his past two starts — both of which went seven innings — Francis has allowed just one run on four hits with zero walks and 15 strikeouts.

After Ryan Burr and Genesis Cabrera got the Jays through the eighth inning, Chad Green nailed it down in the ninth for his 13th save in 13 opportunities, despite allowing the tying run to get into scoring position when Cody Bellinger singled and stole second.

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The win allowed the Jays to avoid being swept in the three-game series, with each contest being decided by one run.

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CENTRE CUT

Plenty of pent-up frustration was unleashed in Loperfido’s first at-bat, which came in the second inning in a scoreless game with two outs.

While Loperfido seems to have all the tools, his nasty penchant for striking out is hard to ignore. But when his power bat gets showcased, it’s easy to envision a 2025 starting lineup with Loperfido in left field.

With Daulton Varsho getting the day off, the Jays had Loperfido in centre field.

He turned on a high pitch from the lefty Imanaga and sent it deep, 409 feet, over the right-field wall for his third dinger of the season, but first as a Blue Jay.

In his previous 43 at-bats with the Jays, Loperfido struck out 19 times, while recording six hits and one RBI.
In the ninth inning, he stroked a one-out single, raising his average to .216.

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DAVIS IS AMISS

Davis Schneider’s struggles at the plate continued on Sunday as he went 0-for-3 with a walk.
In his first at-bat, Schneider popped out in foul territory.

In his second, he struck out on four pitches and has now fanned at least once in 13 straight games.
After walking in the seventh inning, he flied out to centre in the ninth and is now on an 0-for-22 slide.

KNEED TO KNOW

During the first of the day’s two rain delays on Saturday, the Jays were forced into making a roster re-alignment when shortstop Leo Jimenez tweaked his knee when backing up the bag at third base on an attempted steal.

The good news is the Jays don’t believe it’s serious and, for now, no further testing is required.
M

uch like many on the current big-league roster, Jimenez’s body of work as the injured Bo Bichette’s replacement, is far too small to draw any definitive conclusions.

In 95 at-bats, he is hitting .221 with two homers, seven RBI’s and a 32.1% strikeout rate.
When he was removed from Saturday’s game, the Jays had Ernie Clement, who began the afternoon at third base, at shortstop.

Clement started at short Sunday and committed an error on a routine ball with two outs in the fourth inning as the Cubs had the bases loaded.

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