Angels break up Bowden Francis' no-hitter in 9th inning, marking latest failed no-no bid for Blue Jays

Bowden Francis was so close to making history on Saturday afternoon at Rogers Centre.

But Francis and the Toronto Blue Jays came up short of pulling off what would’ve been the second no-hitter in franchise history.

Francis threw eight spotless innings on Saturday in Toronto's 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels. He entered the ninth inning in Toronto with 12 strikeouts and three walks on a career-high 112 pitches, marking what was by far his best outing on the mound in his career. He was three outs away from completing the first no-hitter in Blue Jays history since 1990.

Angels left fielder Taylor Ward ended that no-no bid immediately in the ninth with a solo home run. While it wasn’t enough to push L.A. to the win, it saved the Angels from being on the wrong side of a no-hitter for the first time in decades. The Angels haven’t been no-hit since 1999, which is the longest active streak in Major League Baseball.

The Blue Jays quickly pulled Francis from the game after the home run, and he walked off the mound to a huge ovation. Reliever Chad Green then ended the inning to seal the two-run win.

Toronto’s only no-hitter came from Dave Stieb, who pulled off that feat against Cleveland in 1990. That came after he lost a perfect game and two no-hitters in the ninth inning in preceding years. The Blue Jays have been close several times since then, most recently in 2010 when Brandon Morrow was an out away in the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays. A hit from Evan Longoria broke that one up.

The Blue Jays are one of three teams with a single no-hitter in their existence, along with the Colorado Rockies and Tampa Bay Rays.

Francis entered Saturday's game with a 6-3 record in 21 appearances, including seven starts, this season, his third with the team. He holds a 4.38 ERA in more than 63 innings on the mound. His no-hitter would have been the fourth of the season across the league.

Though the no-hitter was stopped, Toronto had no issue getting past the Angels on Saturday. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit an RBI double in the first inning to put the Blue Jays on the board right away, and then he was hit in by Joey Loperfido. Guerrero then hit a solo home run in the eighth inning to put Toronto up by three.

The win marked the fifth in the Blue Jays’ past seven games and their third straight over the Angels. Toronto now holds a 62-68 record on the season, which still has them last in the AL East standings.

The Angels are 54-76 and have lost seven of their past eight. They have the second-worst record in the American League, ahead of only the Chicago White Sox.