Maybe the third time will work?
Blue Jays pitcher Bowden Francis came within three outs of pitching his second no-hitter in less than a month, but a leadoff home run in the ninth inning robbed him of the streak.
Nineteen days after Angels infielder Taylor Ward set the record against Francisco on Aug. 24, Francisco Lindor ended the 28-year-old starting pitcher's history-making hopes.
Francis missed out on one historic moment, but he made his mark in another.
Francis became the first pitcher to do so since Nolan Ryan missed two no-hitters in the same season in the ninth inning. According to Sarah Langs:
Francis' good fortune seems to match the past fortunes of Blue Jays pitchers, particularly Dave Stiebre, who suffered even greater heartbreak this year than Wednesday's starter.
Steve is the only Blue Jays pitcher to ever pitch a no-hitter, which he did on September 2, 1990, but it took him several tries before he finally made history.
Steve pitched two no-hitters towards the end of the 1988 season, but despite coming within one out on both occasions, the record was broken.
Francis went hitless into the final innings on Wednesday, looking like he'd hold the Mets hitless for the first time since Max Scherzer did it with the Nationals in October 2015.
Instead, Lindor hit a ball to right field, but told reporters he “100 percent” knew it was a home run the moment he hit it.
Oddly enough, the Mets recorded just the fifth win in franchise history after pitching eight no-hitters. According to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Interestingly, Francis only struck out one batter through the ninth inning before Lindor ended his no-hitter.
The Mets scored six runs in the inning, including a three-run homer by Francisco Alvarez, and ultimately won, 6-2.
