Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Bowden Francis has been one of the absolute best pitchers in all of baseball since late July. History was made on Wednesday against the New York Mets after Francis lost a no-hit bid in the ninth inning for the second time in three weeks.
Francis lost his no-hitter on Wednesday after giving up a home run to Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor to lead off the ninth inning. With the Blue Jays up 1-0, Francis was able to get Lindor to a 0-2 count. But on what ended up being his 111th and final pitch of the night, Lindor was able to drive a 91.9 mph fastball from Francis 398 feet to right field, breaking up the no-hitter and tying the game.
Francis also lost a no-hitter on Aug. 24, just 18 days ago. That time, Francis gave up a home run to Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward to lead off the ninth inning.
This is the first time a player has lost two no-hitters in the ninth inning in the same season since 1989 when Nolan Ryan, who has the MLB record for most career no-hitters with seven, accomplished the same feat according to MLB researcher Sarah Langs.
To add insult to injury, not only did Francis end up losing his most recent no-hit bid to Lindor's game-tying home run, but the Mets continued to rally in the ninth inning after Francis was pulled and ended up winning the game 6-2.
Despite Francis' unfortunate luck in the ninth inning, he has still been on an incredible run this past month and a half that deserves to be recognized.
How good has Bowden Francis been since rejoining the Toronto Blue Jays' rotation?
After a stint in the bullpen, Francis rejoined the Blue Jays starting rotation on July 29. Since then, Francis has been one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball. He has a 1.83 ERA over 54 innings and has shown the Blue Jays that he could be a building block as they try and get back to competing for the postseason in 2025.
This is the first time that the 28-year-old Francis has gotten a chance to consistently start games at the Major League level, and has more-than impressed.
Even though the Blue Jays have not had a lot to look forward to this season, Francis has been a very pleasant surprise and looks like he will continue to be a fixture at the front of the Blue Jays' rotation for years to come.
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