Democracy Dies in Darkness

Blue Jays starter loses another no-hitter on a ninth-inning home run

For the second time in his past four starts, Bowden Francis was victimized by a long ball in the ninth.

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Toronto's Bowden Francis has twice come close to notching just the second no-hitter in franchise history. (Chris Young/Canadian Press/AP)

For the second time in his past four starts, Bowden Francis took a no-hitter into the ninth inning. And once again, the Blue Jays pitcher’s bid for history was undone by a leadoff home run.

This time, in a Wednesday matinee at Toronto’s Rogers Centre, the New York Mets’ Francisco Lindor did the honors. On Francis’s 111th pitch, delivered on an 0-2 count, the slugging shortstop got a fastball over the plate and belted it deep to right field.

The no-doubter not only broke up the no-hitter, it tied the score at 1 and sparked a Mets rally that secured a 6-2 win, New York’s 11th in its past 13 games. That ended the day on a sour note for Francis, who was lifted after Lindor’s homer, at which point relievers Chad Green and Génesis Cabrera combined to allow five runs.

Asked after the game what immediately came to his mind when he saw Lindor’s shot reach the seats, Francis replied with a smile, “Again?”

“I didn’t feel that one coming,” he continued. “I thought it was maybe going to be a pop-up or something, but with that many pitches, I felt like I kind of had to empty the tank with heaters and let them put the ball in play, like I was doing all day.”

Francis’s previous no-hit bid was spoiled late last month when the Los Angeles Angels’ Taylor Ward started the ninth with a homer, but the Blue Jays righty got the win as his team came away with a 3-1 home victory. Taken together, though, Francis’s near misses only added to a list of close calls for a franchise that has had just one no-hitter in nearly 48 seasons of existence.

That singular feat was accomplished in 1990 by Blue Jays icon Dave Stieb, who no-hit Cleveland to end a personal history of frustration. In 1988, Stieb fell short of a no-no with just one out to spare in two straight starts, and he threw an American League record-tying three one-hitters that season. The following season, Stieb came within one out of a perfect game before the New York Yankees’ Roberto Kelly smacked a last-gasp double.

Other close calls for Toronto since then include a 1998 outing by Roy Halladay — making just his second major league start — in which he allowed a Detroit Tigers home run with two outs in the ninth. In 2010, Brandon Morrow struck out 17 Tampa Bay Rays and also came within one out of a no-no before settling for a dominant one-hitter.

Since Morrow’s gem, no Toronto pitcher had taken a no-hitter into the ninth until Aug. 24 (per the Associated Press), and Francis followed that start by no-hitting the Boston Red Sox for 5⅓ innings before getting lifted after seven and allowing just one hit. All told, over five starts in August, Francis allowed just four earned runs in 34⅓ innings, notched a 1.05 ERA and was named AL pitcher of the month.

Not bad for a relatively inexperienced major leaguer who began the season as a first-time starter for Toronto but quickly lost his spot in the rotation after getting shelled in his first two outings. As recently as Aug. 4, Francis was still coming out of the bullpen, but his subsequent return to the rotation began this highly impressive run.