Sept. 13—After turning a no-hitter into a loss, the host Toronto Blue Jays aim to bounce back in the first game of a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night.
Right-hander Bowden Francis hit his first home run in the ninth inning of Wednesday’s game against the visiting New York Mets with the score tied 1-1, ending his no-hitter.
Francis left the game, the bullpen allowed five more runs in the inning, and Toronto lost the deciding game of the three-game series, 6–2.
It was the second time in four games that Bowden lost a no-hitter with a leadoff home run in the ninth inning.
“A lot of things have to go the way you want them to,” Toronto manager John Schneider said of trying to pitch a no-hitter. “Whether it’s the boundary pitches, the game going on behind you, how your body feels. It all has to really align.”
On September 2, 1990, Dave Stieb pitched the only no-hitter in franchise history.
The Cardinals (74-72) beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-1 on Thursday afternoon to move to 3-3 at home and cut their deficit in the final National League wild-card round to six games.
The Blue Jays (69-78) have won only four of their last 14 games.
After complaining about being the spoiler, they have lost four consecutive series to teams with playoff aspirations.
Toronto first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is batting .321 with 28 home runs and 94 RBI, and in his last seven games, has .179 (5 of 28), no home runs, 3 RBI and 3 walks.
In 70 home games this season, he batted .347 (91 of 262) with 15 home runs and 49 RBI.
Right-hander Kevin Gausman (12-11, 4.09 ERA) is scheduled to start Friday in Toronto. He is 1-5 with a 3.43 ERA in 10 career games against St. Louis (six starts).
The Cardinals plan to start right-hander Eric Fedor (8-9, 3.39 ERA). On May 20, playing for the Chicago White Sox, he gave up five runs in six innings in a 9-3 loss to Toronto. He has a 2-1 record and 4.87 ERA in four career starts against the Toronto Raptors.
Francis has provided the Blue Jays with one of the few positive developments in recent memory, and he’s working himself into the rotation plans for next season.
He has a 4-1 record with a 1.26 ERA in his last six starts. His 0.40 WHIP is the lowest mark in six starts in modern major league history.
“I can do this. I can be a starter in the major leagues,” Francis said after his final appearance. “I feel like I’ve always believed it.”
The Cardinals also looked forward to the future Thursday. 22-year-old second baseman Thomas Saggese had his first two big league hits and his first RBI.
“It feels great,” Saggis said. “I was starting to feel a little bit of pressure to get it, but it was really nice to throw it.”
Sargis made his debut on Tuesday and performed well on the field.
“It’s fun to watch him play,” said Cardinals head coach Oliver Marmor. “He’s a tough guy. It was great to see him get knocked out the first time…hopefully he can carry that forward.”
Brendan Donovan hit a two-run homer as a pinch-hitter and Masyn Winn also homered for St. Louis.
Toronto claimed right-hander Brett DeJesus off waivers from the Miami Marlins and optioned him to Triple-A Buffalo. The Blue Jays designated right-hander Yerry Rodriguez for assignment.
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