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Toronto Blue Jays Bowden Francis turned lots of heads last Saturday when he took a no-hit bid into the ninth inning of a game against the Los Angeles Angels at home. Los Angeles hitter Taylor Ward ended Francis' chance for a no-hitter when he connected on a 3-2 fastball for a home run in the ninth inning.
The Angels still won that game, 3-1, thanks to Francis' incredible start. However, Ward did not seem too impressed with Francis.
“I thought everything was hittable,” Ward said after the game, per Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register.
“Maybe to other guys he made better pitches. Other guys were talking about his split and that being on, but I didn’t think it was anything special.”
Francis finished that game with just a run and a hit allowed with three walks issued and 12 strikeouts through 117 pitches to earn his seventh pitching win of the season.
On Sunday, Francis was shown support by his teammate, Chris Bassitt. While Francis was being interviewed on air during the series finale against the Angels, Bassitt showed up with a sign that had the following message: “15 innings, 2 hits, 20 Ks. Hittable + Nothing Special.” Bassitt apparently took a subtle shot at Ward with that sign.
For Immediate Release: pic.twitter.com/nv14BCD4pz
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) August 25, 2024
Francis' start against the Angels was the latest in his strong performances this month of August. Over his last five appearances on the mound, the 28-year-old Francis has gone 3-1 with a 1.32 ERA. He has one more start to make before the calendar flips to September, as he is expected to face the Boston Red Sox in a series finale at Fenway Park this coming Thursday.
With Francis in excellent form, the Blue Jays must be looking forward to another solid start from him.
Social media reactions to Chris Bassitt's trolling of Taylor Ward
Fans online have voiced out their thoughts on Bassitt's show of support for Francis– and on Ward/s comments.
“Give me this straight into my veins” – @ArmchairCommen2
“Ward calling bowden hitable is hilarious with his .212 avg. he got lucky and ran into one… periodically a blind squirrel gets a nut.” – @snoshi
“Chris bassist is fantastic 👏👏👏👏👏👏 Calling out those ridiculous comments!!!!” – @mcbluejays81
“Sign Chris Bassitt to a lifetime contract IMMEDIATELY” – @BudsNGraps
“Bassitt’s support for his teammates is a beautiful thing! Stick it to them Chris!!!!”
“Chris Bassitt and Vladdy. Two of the best guys to have on a team. They got you. Bless this guy’s heart. He’s just flat out loveable.” – @pouchbaby
“If Ward had batted .500 this series it may have held more credibility.” – @OldSchoolGoonH
Can Toronto still make the 2024 MLB playoffs?
Even with the sweep of the Angels and winning four of their last five games, it is still tough to see the Blue Jays clinching a spot in the postseason based on how the current landscape of the MLB standings.
Toronto is still just 63-68 after Sunday's win over the Halos. They are last in the American League East division, with the New York Yankees holding a 14-game lead over Toronto. In addition to that, the Blue Jays are also 9.5 games outside of the wild-card picture in the American League. They will have to jump five teams in order to get the third and final wild-card spot in the AL.
Over at FanGraphs, Toronto, as things stand, is given just a 0.2 percent to make the playoffs.
