Another no-go on a Francis no-no

Starter flirts with a no-hitter for the third time in three weeks before Mets break out in ninth

- GREGOR CHISHOLM

Bowden Francis hasn’t reached the level of Dave Stieb quite yet, but he has already surpassed Marco Estrada on the long list of pitchers in Blue Jays history who have flirted with throwing a no-hitter.

Stieb took three no-hitters and a perfect game into the ninth inning before he was finally able to seal the deal on Sept. 2, 1990. He remains the only Jays pitcher to have thrown a no-hitter as Toronto is tied with Colorado and Tampa Bay for the fewest in the majors among active teams.

There have been a lot of other close calls. Estrada took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against Boston in 2016. The season before, he did the same to Baltimore and Tampa Bay in back-to-back starts.

Francis has flirted with three nohitters in fewer than three weeks. He carried a no-hitter into the ninth against the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 24 before Taylor Ward spoiled it with a homer. During his next start, Francis had a no-hitter against Boston broken up by a Nick Sogard double in the seventh.

It was Francisco Lindor’s turn to spoil the party Wednesday. With the 29,399 fans in attendance on their feet for most of the at-bat, Francis had his dreams spoiled when Lindor led off the ninth with a no-doubter over the wall in right field. Not only did Francis lose the no-hitter, his team went on to lose the game 6-2.