‘Today was unbelievable,’ The Blue Jays’ Bowden Francis goes from player of the week to almost perfect

John Schneider made headlines across the country last October when he used an early hook on starter Jose Berrios. But with right-hander Bowden Francis chasing history Saturday, the Blue Jays manager wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice.
Francis entered the game against the Los Angeles Angels having never thrown more than seven innings or 95 pitches in a big-league start. Fast forward a couple hours to the middle of the eighth, and he had tossed 111 without surrendering a hit.
There were noticeable signs of fatigue late in the game as Francis experienced a slight drop in velocity and misplaced command. It didn’t matter. Barring a noticeable health scare, Schneider was content to send Francis out for the ninth inning with a shot at becoming the second pitcher in franchise history to toss a no-hitter.
Unfortunately for Francis, his bid didn’t advance any further despite the support. Taylor Ward led off the ninth with a solo home run over the wall in centre field and Francis had to settle for eight-plus dominant innings, including 12 strikeouts, in a 3-1 victory.
“Bowden has battled for a lot of years and has gotten to this point, so I didn’t want to take anything away from him,” Schneider said. ”(Pitching coach) Pete Walker and I were on the same page, without really saying it. Those conversations get pretty funny when you get past the seventh. But that was his (game), that was his until he gave up a hit.”
Francis became the first Jays pitcher to take a no-hitter into the ninth inning since Brandon Morrow on Aug. 8, 2010, against Tampa Bay. It was the 10th time in franchise history a no-hitter was broken up in the ninth. Dave Stieb remains the only pitcher who successfully pulled it off with his outing Sept. 2, 1990 versus the Cleveland Indians.
The near feat didn’t go underappreciated by the 34,000-plus fans in attendance. When Francis got Niko Kavadas to fly out to end the eighth, he walked off the field to a standing ovation. The 28-year-old received another standing ovation when he jogged to the mound for the top of the ninth.
History was denied when Ward sent a ball 405 feet, just above the wall in centre and beyond the outstretched glove of Daulton Varsho, but the cheers continued. The loudest applause was saved for when Francis walked off after Schneider came to get him following the homer.
“That was huge, I hadn’t felt that yet,” said Francis, who made his big-league debut in 2022. “That just shows the Toronto crowd, the fans here, are incredible. I felt the love.”
Francis finished Saturday’s outing having allowed one run on one hit while walking three and hitting a batter. He tossed a career-high 117 pitches and struck out a career-high 12 to earn his seventh victory. It was another standout performance in what has turned into a very impressive run.
It was only six days ago that Francis was named the American League player of the week. He has allowed three runs or fewer in each of his five starts since being recalled from Triple-A Buffalo. Over his last three, he has given up just two runs on five hits while striking out 27 in 22 innings.
And sure, two of those starts came against the offensively inept Angels, but there were also two strong outings against the Baltimore Orioles, who have the third-ranked offence in the majors, and seven scoreless inning against the 18th-ranked Chicago Cubs. Overall, it has been a heck of a month for the long reliever turned starter.
“I feel very proud of him right now,” Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. said, through a translator. “We all know at the beginning of the season, things weren’t going his way. The last four or five outings, he has been incredible. Today was unbelievable. He works very hard every day.”
With Francis overmatching the Angels on just about every pitch, the Jays didn’t require much offence to pick up their third consecutive win. Guerrero went 2-for-3 with an RBI double and a solo homer, his 27th of the season, while Joey Loperfido chipped in with an RBI double.
That was more than enough run support for Francis. He primarily relied on his four-seam fastball and splitter combination while occasionally mixing in sliders, curveballs and sinkers. Until Ward’s blast on a 3-2 four-seamer, the Angels didn’t have answers for any of them.
Francis entered this year as somewhat of an afterthought. His stint as the fifth starter lasted all of two outings before he was sent to the bullpen, and later the minor leagues. The native of Florida reclaimed his job when the Jays traded Yusei Kikuchi at the July 30 deadline and, based on the way he has been pitching lately, Francis has no intention of giving it up any time soon.