Blue Jays pitcher Bowden Francis wasn’t feeling his best on Wednesday after a poor night’s sleep led to some fatigue and a fastball that was a little short of peak velocity.
You wouldn’t know it by the sterling performance he delivered against the New York Mets.
Francis took a no-hitter in the ninth inning before Francisco Lindor ended his day with a solo homer in an eventual 6-2 Mets victory. It was the second time in the last three weeks that Francis had a no-hit bid ended by the leadoff hitter in the ninth.
“I feel like I had a good plan going in and I just tried to keep trusting it,” Francis said.
The right-hander struck out 12 in a 3-1 win over the L.A. Angels on Aug. 24, when Taylor Ward homered in the ninth inning. Francis fanned just one in Wednesday’s matinee, instead utilizing his pitch mix and working …