August 24, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Bowden Francis (44) pitches for the Los Angeles Angels during the ninth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports After pitching a no-hitter into the ninth inning of his last game, Bowden Francis will take the field for the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday in the final game of a four-game series against the host Boston Red Sox.
Francis (7-3, 4.02 ERA) held the Los Angeles Angels hitless through eight innings in Toronto’s 3-1 victory on Saturday, losing his bid for the second no-hitter in Blue Jays history on Taylor Ward’s leadoff homer in the ninth.
The 28-year-old recorded his third consecutive win with a career-high 12 strikeouts and will aim to continue the streak in his first career start against Boston, which has won two games in a row in the series after a 3-0 victory on Wednesday.
Francis has made three relief appearances against the Red Sox in his career, pitching 2 2/3 scoreless innings.
“He’s battled for a number of years and gotten to this point, so I didn’t want to take anything away from him,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said of Francis’ last game. “(Pitching coach) Pete (Walker) and I were on the same page. It was his until he gave up a hit.”
Francis has pitched 22 innings over his last three starts, going 3-0, striking out 27 and giving up just five hits, two runs and three walks.
He gave up 12 runs in his first 8 1/3 frames of the season — the first two starts of his career.
“We all know that at the beginning of the season, things weren’t going his way,” said Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. “The last four or five games, he’s been unbelievable. (Saturday) was unbelievable.”
Boston got its best pitching performance on Wednesday when Brian Bello pitched eight innings for the first time in his career, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out nine batters.
The Blue Jays were handed a second loss by Bello after a five-game win, though Addison Barger’s double extended their hitting streak to six consecutive games. However, the team’s streak of 16 consecutive games with a home run came to an end.
After Bello’s sensational performance, Tyler O’Neill hit a spectacular two-run home run in the eighth — his fifth in nine games against Toronto this season — to give the Red Sox safety.
Otherwise, Willier Abreu’s first-inning RBI single was crucial.
“It was fun to watch,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “(Bello’s) best performance in the big leagues. Against a team that has bothered him, he was able to keep them off-balance.”
To continue Bello’s impressive form, Cooter Crawford (8-11, 4.19) will have to step up, having had some bad luck the past two games. He allowed just five runs on five hits in a combined 10 1/3 innings against Arizona and Baltimore.
Crawford held the Diamondbacks to two-run ball through five innings on Saturday. The line looks solid, but it wasn’t enough for the right-hander himself.
He said, “For the most part, I felt I competed pretty well – on every single pitch. I just wasn’t fit enough in my area.”
Crawford is 1–1 with a 4.26 ERA in five games (four starts) against Toronto.
Before Wednesday, the only other Boston starter to pitch at least eight innings this season was Tanner Houck, who pitched a shutout April 17 against Cleveland.
The Red Sox have totaled 13 shutouts, the most in MLB.
–Field Level Media