Bowden Francis nearly made history with a no-hitter on Saturday.
He was pitching for the Blue Jays against the Angels and came very close to achieving the fourth no-hitter of this season. Using 111 pitches, he got through eight innings, striking out 12 batters and allowing three walks. But in the ninth inning, Taylor Ward hit a home run, ending both his no-hitter and shutout bid. Chad Green then took over as pitcher.
Francis has been performing well lately. He had a 4.38 ERA before this game but has shown improvement with three quality starts in a row . In his last three games, he allowed only one run or less while pitching at least seven innings each time.
Game Highlights:
The Blue Jays scored early with two runs in the first inning thanks to doubles from Vladimir Guerrero and Joey Loperfido. Guerrero also hit a solo home run in the eighth inning, making it harder for the Angels to catch up.
This season has already seen three no-hitters by other pitchers: Ronel Blanco of the Astros against the Blue Jays on April 1; Dylan Cease of the Padres versus the Nationals in July; and Blake Snell of the Giants against the Reds in August. The last combined no-hitter was by three Detroit Tigers pitchers last July against these same Blue Jays.
Fans might think it’s exciting how close Francis came to making history again for Toronto! The Blue Jays have just one official no-hitter from Dave Stieb back in 1990 against Cleveland Guardians. Brandon Morrow almost added another one in 2010 but was stopped by Evan Longoria of Tampa Bay Rays with just one out remaining.
What do you think about Francis’ performance?
