Maybe the third time will be the charm?
For the second time in less than a month, Blue Jays pitcher Bowden Francis came within three outs of a no-hitter only to have it ripped away from him thanks to a lead-off homer in the ninth.
Francisco Lindor was the one to dash the 28-year-old starter’s hopes of making history 19 days after Angels infielder Taylor Ward did so in a game against Francis on Aug. 24.
While Francis missed out on one piece of history, he etched his name into the record books for another.
Francis became the first pitcher since Nolan Ryan had two no-hit bids lost in the ninth inning in the same season, according to Sarah Langs.
Francis’ luck also seems fitting with the way things have gone for Blue Jays pitchers in the past, in particular Dave Stieb who suffered even more heartbreak than Wednesday’s starter has this year.
While Stieb is the only Jays pitcher to record a no-hitter – doing so on Sept. 2, 1990 – it took him several attempts to finally make history.
Stieb fell short in two no-hit bids at the end of the 1988 season when he came within one out on two separate occasions only to have history taken away from him.
On Wednesday, Francis carried the no-no into the final inning and seemed destined to hold the Mets hitless for the first time since Max Scherzer did so with the Nationals in October 2015.
Instead, Lindor sent a shot to right field on a hit that he told reporters he knew was “100 percent” a home run when he hit it.
Oddly, the Mets recorded their fifth win in franchise history after being no-hit through eight innings, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Interestingly Francis had only struck out one batter going to the ninth before Lindor broke up the no-hitter bid.
The Mets proceeded to score six runs in the frame — including a three-run homer by Francisco Alvarez to ultimately win the game 6-2.
