Bowden Francis has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this month.
The Toronto Blue Jays right-hander hopes to finish August strong when he takes the mound for the series finale against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Thursday night.
Francis is coming off a near-no-hitter last Saturday against the Los Angeles Angels. His bid for the second no-hitter in franchise history was spoiled when Taylor Ward led off the ninth inning with a home run.
Ward raised eyebrows after the game when he told Julia Kreuz of MLB.com that he thought “everything was hittable” and “didn’t think it was anything special.”
The next day during an interview with Francis on Sportsnet’s live broadcast of the game, Chris Bassitt held up a sign behind the fellow starter saying “15 innings, 2 hits, 20 K’s, Hittable and Not Special.”
Francis will face a stiffer test against the Red Sox, who are three games back of a wild-card spot after beating Toronto the past two games.
The Blue Jays were blanked 3-0 on Wednesday after losing 6-3 on Tuesday against their AL East rival.
Francis has a 1.32 ERA in five games (four starts) this month as he makes a convincing case to stay in the rotation in 2025 following a rocky start to the year. He has gone seven innings or more in his past three starts.
The Red Sox start struggling righty Kutter Crawford, who has a 7.30 ERA in five starts in August.
Watch Thursday’s game on Sportsnet or Sportsnet+ at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.