Toronto Blue Jays fans have had precious little to celebrate this season. The team is out of the playoff picture and sits in last place in the AL East. The Blue Jays were labeled baseball's biggest disappointment by their own top executive. Still, pitcher Bowden Francis gave Toronto fans something to cheer about when he took a no-hitter into the ninth inning of Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels.

Unfortunately for Francis and the Blue Jays, the no-hit bid was blown up in brutal fashion when Angels’ outfielder Taylor Ward hit a home run to center on a 3-2 fastball in the top of the ninth, per Talkin Baseball on X. The ball just got over the wall to break up Francis’ no-hitter and shutout.

Had Francis completed the task he would have been just the second Toronto player ever to throw a no-hitter. As it stands, only Dave Stieb has tossed a no-hitter for the Blue Jays. He accomplished the feat during the 1990 season.

Despite losing the no-hit bid, Francis was terrific against the Angels. He went eight innings and allowed just the one hit and one run while striking out 12 batters and improving his record to 7-3.

The Blue Jays’ Bowden Francis nearly had a no-hitter

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Aug 24, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Bowden Francis (44) pitches to the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning at Rogers Centre.
John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

The 28-year-old righty has primarily been used as a reliever. However, he’s picked up five starts over the last month and Francis has been brilliant in his last three outings. Including today’s strong showing, Francis is 3-0 in his last three starts. In that span he’s allowed just five hits, two earned runs and three walks while striking out 27 in 22 innings pitched.

Francis had a sip of coffee in the majors in 2022, pitching 0.2 innings. He pitched well in 20 appearances last season, posting a 1.73 ERA, 0.826 WHIP and 8.7 K/9 in 36.1 innings in 2023. This season, Francis has underperformed until recently. His ERA was at 6.14 on July 10 but after Saturday’s eight innings of excellence, it’s down to 4.02.

Francis has likely earned a spot in the Blue Jays’ rotation for the rest of the season. The team has nothing to lose. After contemplating selling off franchise cornerstones Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette at the trade deadline, the team opted to hang onto its young stars. While Guerrero’s been crushing in the second half of the season, the Blue Jays have fallen to six games below .500 and 14 games behind the first-place New York Yankees in the AL East. Toronto is 10 games back in the AL Wild Card standings.