Right-hander Bowden Francis of the Blue Jays is pitching shutout against the New York Mets through eight innings on Wednesday.
Francis has hit a hitter twice with a pitch, walked one, and struck out one. Out of 108 pitches, 65 were struck by him. Toronto has a 1-0 advantage.
On September 2, 1990, Dave Stieb pitched the only no-hitter in Blue Jays history at Cleveland.
Harrison Bader of New York hit a deep fly to deep left field to start the sixth inning, but Davis Schneider of Toronto made an excellent catch at the wall.
After that, Francisco Lindor lined out to first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
In the fourth inning, Guerrero also successfully caught a soft liner from Jose Iglesias, and in the fifth, Brandon Nimmo lined out hard to right field.
On August 24, Francis also held a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Angels before Taylor Ward launched a home run to start the inning.
Francis went 4-1 with a 1.05 ERA in August and was chosen as the AL pitcher of the month. In six outings, five starts, he walked four and struck out 39 batters.
In the major leagues this season, there have been four no-hitters. Following complete games by Houston’s Ronel Blanco against Toronto on April 1, San Diego’s Dylan Cease at Washington on July 25, and San Francisco’s Blake Snell at Cincinnati on August 2, the Chicago Cubs tossed a combined no-no against Pittsburgh on Wednesday.
There have been eight no-hits for the Mets. On October 3, 2015, Max Scherzer of Washington was the final pitcher to accomplish that feat.
