'I felt love': Francis flirts with history as no-hit bid broken up in 9th

TORONTO -- Dave Stieb still sits at the table alone, an empty chair next to him.

It was open for Bowden Francis, the latest Blue Jays pitcher to look a no-hitter in the eye until the very last inning. Francis lost his no-hitter in the ninth on Saturday, a fate too many Blue Jays pitchers before him have met, on a solo home run to Taylor Ward.

Stieb’s no-hitter still stands alone in Blue Jays history, nearly 34 years since he finally climbed the mountain on Sept. 2, 1990. No one will remember the Blue Jays’ 3-1 win over the Angels on Saturday night at Rogers Centre, they’ll only remember Francis and the incredible moment that almost was. Add it to all of those incredible moments that almost have been, Stieb’s among them.

Francis stood on the mound as manager John Schneider walked from the dugout and looked him in the eye, listening to each word as his teammates joined the ovation building around them. Be present, Schneider told Francis. Enjoy what you’re about to hear as you walk off. This doesn’t happen to everyone.

Over a half-hour later, standing in front of the cameras wearing one of his torn-up, vintage Blue Jays shirts, the moment still lived all over Francis’ body. There were goosebumps on the skin running up his arms, dotted between his tattoos, as he thought about that long walk to the dugout.

“I haven’t felt that yet,” Francis said. “The crowd here and the fans, it was just incredible. I felt love.”

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There was a remarkable sense of calm to Francis’ performance. His career-high 12 strikeouts over those eight-plus innings all came so easily, so smoothly. Francis was already coming off a fantastic stretch of outings since moving back into the rotation following the trade of Yusei Kikuchi, but Saturday was his finest moment in the Majors. Since losing his rotation spot in April, Francis has bounced around bullpen roles and waited for the opportunity to show the Blue Jays what so many saw back in the spring, which is a legitimate big league starter.

“I am very proud of him right now,” Vladimir Guerrero Jr. said through club interpreter Hector Lebron. “We all know that at the beginning of the season, things weren’t going his way. The last four or five outings, he’s been incredible. Today was unbelievable.”

The 117 pitches Francis threw were also a career high. The ovation began as he trotted back out to the mound for the ninth at 111, an almost unspoken decision between Schneider and pitching coach Pete Walker. They have so much respect for the work Francis has done to get here, and Schneider “didn’t want to take anything away from him.”

At one point, late in the game, Schneider looked over at Francis between innings. His eyes were closed, meditating.

“I was ready to go however far we needed to go,” Francis said. “It was an in-the-moment thing, an emotional decision to ride with the wave and see how the game is going. In those situations, you just have to go a little farther than you can think about.”

No-hitters have always been so elusive for the Blue Jays, who have spent so long stuck on the wrong side of them, overdue to take their turn. Stieb, one of the great pitchers of the 1980s, lost a perfect game and two no-hitters in heartbreaking fashion in 1988 and ‘89. All three ended with two outs in the ninth inning, making it so much sweeter when Stieb finally had his moment the next year. Roy Halladay, Brandon Morrow and Dustin McGowan have all lost no-hitters in the ninth inning, too.

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Francis had a shot to do what only Stieb has done in this team’s history. He wasn’t overwhelming the Angels, but their lineup simply could not figure Francis out.

“It was him,” said Angels manager Ron Washington. “We couldn't center it. I couldn't understand it, because I looked at the board and this fastball was 92-93. We couldn't center him. So it was just one of those days, and it was a good day for him.”

Francis now takes his seat at the table next to Stieb’s, growing more crowded as Blue Jays pitchers keep chasing the thing that’s only happened once.

We were warned of Stieb’s moment, over and over again, by his near misses. More often than not, these come out of nowhere. Someday, a pitcher will take that seat next to Stieb and surprise us all again. Few have been closer than Bowden Francis.