Blue Jays' Bowden Francis was "believing in my sh*t" in near no-hitter
Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Bowden Francis was just three outs away from history this afternoon versus the Los Angeles Angels.
Francis, who had been red-hot over his last three starts, was even better in this one, racking up a ridiculous 12 strikeouts over 117 pitches. His no-hitter bid was broken up by Taylor Ward in the top of the ninth.
Bowden Francis thru 8
and š¤« pic.twitter.com/C7O2GEBwLC
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 24, 2024
Taylor Ward breaks up the Bowden Francis no-hitter with a home run in the 9th inning pic.twitter.com/FieXowbmH9
— Talkinā Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 24, 2024
“[Brian] Serven called a great game, and the defence behind me gave me all the confidence,” Francis said afterward. “I think just rolling with it, believing in my sh*t and letting it eat.”
It was an incredible effort for Francis, and a gutsy one at that. Prior to tonight’s outing, he had never thrown 100 pitches at the MLB level.
Francis came close to the history books, as Dave Stieb has the lone no-hitter for the Blue Jays. He did so in a game on September 2, 1990, versus the Cleveland Indians.
Thanks to his ridiculous 12 strikeouts tonight, Francis now has 27 through his last three starts. It’s been quite the run for the 28-year-old, who was recently named the AL Player of the Week.
As a Blue Jays analyst pointed out postgame, what made this effort all the more impressive was that he just faced the Angels 12 days ago. Despite having the opportunity to get a read on him, the Angels looked completely lost at the plate all afternoon.
The Blue Jays figure to have at least one spot up for grabs in their pitching rotation in 2025, and with this recent tear that he is on, particularly with today’s start, Francis is making a great for himself. Not bad for a player who many were surprised to see named the team’s fifth starter at the beginning of the 2024 campaign.
He’ll look to continue dealing for the remainder of the season in order to ensure that his goal becomes a reality.