It’s not a matter of if Bowden Francis throws a no-hitter, but when.

Let’s get this out of the way, Francis has been terrific since rejoining the Blue Jays at the end of July. Coming into Wednesday’s game, he had a 1.96 ERA and a 3.57 FIP in 46 innings pitched, along with a 28.7 K% and a 3 BB%.
For the second time in his last four starts, Francis pitched into the ninth inning with a no-hitter intact, only for the lead-off hitter to snap the bid with a solo home run. Not just that, but Francis also threw a no-hitter into the sixth inning of August 29th&#8217;s game. Since 1961, there have only been five other pitchers to have a no-hit bid with five or more innings pitched in a four-game span.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
pitchers with 3 no-hit bids of 5+ IP in a 4-start span, expansion era (1961):
2024 Bowden Francis 2015 Max Scherzer 1976 Doyle Alexander 1974 Roger Nelson 1972 Nolan Ryan 1968 Sonny Siebert
h/t <a href="https://twitter.com/EliasSports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EliasSports</a>
&mdash; Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) <a href="https://twitter.com/SlangsOnSports/status/1833982086996431357?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Moreover, Francis has become the first pitcher since 1989, that’s 35 years ago, to lose two nine-inning no-hit bids in the same season. The last pitcher to do so also appeared on the other list, as it was Nolan Ryan.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Bowden Francis is the first pitcher since 1989 Nolan Ryan with 2 no-hits bids lost in the 9th in a season
!!! <a href="https://t.co/RM5j8hry5o">https://t.co/RM5j8hry5o</a>
&mdash; Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) <a href="https://twitter.com/SlangsOnSports/status/1833981779872764345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Since August 12, Francis has started four games where he’s pitched 7+ innings and gave up at most, one hit. Dylan Cease has done it five times this season, and Grover Alexander did it back in 1915.
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Anyway, only three pitchers in baseball history have recorded a season with four or more starts of 7+ IP and either 1 or 0 hits allowed:
Dylan Cease &#8211; 5 (2024) Grover Alexander &#8211; 4 (1915) Bowden Francis &#8211; 4 (2024*)
*All four starts have come since August 12
&mdash; Jonah Birenbaum (@birenball) <a href="https://twitter.com/birenball/status/1833977031958393332?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
When including this game, Francis has pitched 54 innings since being recalled, posting a 1.86 ERA, a 25 K% and a 3.1 BB%. He’ll be an important piece for the Jays in 2025.
<h2>Diving into the stats…</h2>
Since the bulk of this article is about Francis’ second nine-inning no-hit bid, you’d think the Jays won, right? Nope, as the Jays fell 6-2 due to the bullpen having a rough one. Chad Green had a poor outing after Francis gave up the hit, pitching two thirds of an inning with three walks and four earned runs. Two of those runs came thanks to a home run by Francisco Álvarez, who took Génesis Cabrera deep, like way deep.
It was also a quiet day for the Jays’ bats, as they mustered six singles in the game. Ernie Clement had two singles, while George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Luis De Los Santos, and Addison Barger all had a hit.
That would’ve been a heartbreaking game if these games still mattered to the Jays. However, their record now sits at 69-78, which gives them the fifth-best odds (7.48%) to land the first-overall pick in the 2025 draft.
Starting Friday, the Blue Jays will host fellow bird team, the St. Louis Cardinals for a three-game weekend series. Toronto and St. Louis’ starters are yet to be determined.
<hr />
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.

It’s not a matter of if Bowden Francis throws a no-hitter, but when.



Let’s get this out of the way, Francis has been terrific since rejoining the Blue Jays at the end of July. Coming into Wednesday’s game, he had a 1.96 ERA and a 3.57 FIP in 46 innings pitched, along with a 28.7 K% and a 3 BB%.

For the second time in his last four starts, Francis pitched into the ninth inning with a no-hitter intact, only for the lead-off hitter to snap the bid with a solo home run. Not just that, but Francis also threw a no-hitter into the sixth inning of August 29th's game. Since 1961, there have only been five other pitchers to have a no-hit bid with five or more innings pitched in a four-game span.

https://twitter.com/SlangsOnSports/status/1833982086996431357

Moreover, Francis has become the first pitcher since 1989, that’s 35 years ago, to lose two nine-inning no-hit bids in the same season. The last pitcher to do so also appeared on the other list, as it was Nolan Ryan.

https://twitter.com/SlangsOnSports/status/1833981779872764345

Since August 12, Francis has started four games where he’s pitched 7+ innings and gave up at most, one hit. Dylan Cease has done it five times this season, and Grover Alexander did it back in 1915.

https://twitter.com/birenball/status/1833977031958393332

When including this game, Francis has pitched 54 innings since being recalled, posting a 1.86 ERA, a 25 K% and a 3.1 BB%. He’ll be an important piece for the Jays in 2025.
<h2>Diving into the stats…</h2>
Since the bulk of this article is about Francis’ second nine-inning no-hit bid, you’d think the Jays won, right? Nope, as the Jays fell 6-2 due to the bullpen having a rough one. Chad Green had a poor outing after Francis gave up the hit, pitching two thirds of an inning with three walks and four earned runs. Two of those runs came thanks to a home run by Francisco Álvarez, who took Génesis Cabrera deep, like way deep.

It was also a quiet day for the Jays’ bats, as they mustered six singles in the game. Ernie Clement had two singles, while George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Luis De Los Santos, and Addison Barger all had a hit.

That would’ve been a heartbreaking game if these games still mattered to the Jays. However, their record now sits at 69-78, which gives them the fifth-best odds (7.48%) to land the first-overall pick in the 2025 draft.

Starting Friday, the Blue Jays will host fellow bird team, the St. Louis Cardinals for a three-game weekend series. Toronto and St. Louis’ starters are yet to be determined.

<hr />

As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.

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