ANAHEIM, Calif. — A season of stops, starts and bouncing between roles suddenly has momentum for Bowden Francis, who is making the most of his latest stint in the Toronto Blue Jays’ rotation.
The 28-year-old right-hander’s seven-inning, one-hit, eight-strikeout gem Monday against the Los Angeles Angels made it three straight starts in which he’s gone at least five innings, a first for him in the majors. There’s some process progress in terms of better maintaining velocity and pitch usage underpinning those results, too, as he’s stacked gains upon gains.
“Comfortability and confidence, building trust with the team,” Francis said of what the roll is doing for him. “Just trying to work on all the little things. Bouncing back from the beginning of the year and trying to learn from it. Just continue to work. I'm at a good spot with mechanics, been kind of in a groove. Got to keep trucking along.”
The Blue Jays certainly need him to do that as he was reinserted into the rotation July 29, the day Yusei Kikuchi was traded to the Houston Astros, and allowed three runs over 5.2 innings against the Orioles in Baltimore. A week later, in Toronto, he held the AL East leaders to two runs in five innings with seven strikeouts, leading into his career-best outing in Anaheim.
"That's so encouraging for Bowden,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “He had everything working. He was just executing at a high level. Held his stuff. They were really aggressive, kept his pitch count down, and split was great. He was using his curveball at the right times. The slider was good. Threw some sinkers, which is kind of new for him, too, but he had them in between all night. And most encouraging was held his stuff throughout seven innings, which is really good.”
Francis has upped the usage of his splitter since returning, throwing it more often than his bread-and-butter curveball and slider the past two starts, giving him a new wrinkle to better control bat speed. Notably, his last fastball of the night, on career-high tying pitch No. 81, hit 93.4 m.p.h., a hair off the 93.8 m.p.h. he averaged throughout the outing.
“Being able to repeat, getting in my legs, arm's on time,” Francis said of holding his velo. “I've been working hard on it ever since I had a little fall-off at the beginning. I knew I could get back to it. The last few years, it's been like I have a little second wind in the second half with my stuff.”
Francis began the year in the Blue Jays rotation, had two rough outings before finding himself the piggyback for Yariel Rodriguez, ended up on the injured list with right forearm extensor tendinitis, returned as a reliever, didn’t acclimate well to the role, and then was sent to triple-A Buffalo after the All-Star break to get stretched out for his current return.
He called the clarity on his usage “huge.”
“I feel so much more myself and comfortable,” he added. “I feel like I can work on those four days off and really prepare my mind for it. It was just a little different out of the 'pen, but being able to start, I can really hone in and I've got no excuses. I can take this for what it is and get my mind right, my body right and get ready.”
JIMENEZ GOES DEEP: Career homer No. 1 for Leo Jimenez was struck well, but when the 23-year-old shortstop watched Angels centre fielder Mickey Moniak leap for it at the wall, his heart momentarily sunk.
“I actually thought that he caught the ball, not going to lie to you,” said Jimenez. “But then as soon as I saw him throw his glove in the air, I'm like, 'Wow, it's actually happening.' So then, it's going to sound a little bit out there, but I don't remember running the bases. I remember only when I touched home plate and I was actually celebrating. When I went back out to play shortstop, I was like, did I actually touch every single base?’”
No worries there and his milestone swing entered the books, the type of swing he’s been working toward. He’s reached in six of his last eight games after an extended cold stretch and has focused on being “able to recognize my zone, know my zone, not trying to expand too much,” he said. “That's when I get in trouble a little bit. Keeping my zone, getting good swings on my pitches. That's what I've been working on.”
BERROA GETS ON-BASE: As Will Wagner, Francis and Leo Jimenez bagged firsts and career bests in Monday’s 4-2 win, Steward Berroa quietly worked three walks, his first time reaching base three times in a big-league game.
It’s exactly why Schneider started the 25-year-old outfielder into the Blue Jays lineup, seeking “a little bit of energy and he did his part.” Berroa certainly carries an infectious energy and it’s certainly helped him reach the big leagues, something that wasn’t projected for him when the season began.
All of which made his first hit July 27 and his other firsts all the more rewarding.
“Honestly, it feels good,” he said. “Being here when you didn't have a lot of expectations is a positive thing already. Getting the first hit, first stolen base, it's something that makes you think that all the process paid off. At the end, I feel the same in certain ways because we're just baseball players and we want to do well, no matter where we are. I focus on those little moments and I'm seeing myself passing through a lot of good stuff right now. That makes me feel really proud of myself.”
DE LOS SANTOS DEMOTED: Luis De Los Santos’ was demoted to triple-A Buffalo to make room for fellow infielder Wagner but his promotion to the big leagues resonated with people around the organization.
The 26-year-old was signed as an international free agent in 2015 and he climbed the farm system rung-by-rung, constantly working to get better. Understandably, when he debuted at Camden Yards on July 31, he described himself as “very happy.”
“It's a dream to be here, playing in this level,” he said. “A lot of emotions, with my family. When I got to Baltimore and I saw the field, I felt so, so happy to be there and excited to play. That's a dream come true.”
De Los Santos collected his first two big-league hits and first RBI on Sunday in an 8-4 loss to the Oakland Athletics, just before he was returned to Buffalo. Before he left, he felt that showing “more patience at the plate” helped him “to control the zone a little bit and this year I think I'm getting better at that. I'm taking more walks. My OPS is up, my on-base percentage, too. And that's the key to being ready for the call.”
QUOTABLE: “I was nervous on the on-deck circle, but once I was walking up to the plate, I just started to gain a little bit more confidence, just go up there and know I'm here for a reason. I was just trying to be aggressive (with) that at-bat. … When I touched first, I was like, 'Hey, I got the first hit out of the way, I'm really happy.' I didn't know the double celebration though, so I got teased on that a little bit.” – Will Wagner, on hitting the first pitch to him in the majors for a double
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