Blue Jays' Bowden Francis sees no-hitter implode in familiar, painful fashion

No-hitters are such a rarity in MLB, that when a pitcher is close to throwing one, the whole world seemingly stops to see if they could pull it off. For Toronto Blue Jays starter Bowden Francis, he came close to throwing a no-hitter not just once this season, but twice.

On Wednesday, Francis carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the New York Mets, needing just three more outs to secure it. The first Mets player to step into the batter's box was star shortstop Francisco Lindor. On the third pitch of the at-bat thrown by Francis, Lindor clobbered it over the right field wall at Rogers Centre to tie the game at 1-1.

Sadly, this is a familiar feeling for Francis, who saw his last no-hitter attempt end in the exact same fashion.

Blue Jays' Bowden Francis sees another no-hitter attempt end in ninth inning

Back on Aug. 24, Francis got the start against the Los Angeles Angels, going eight full innings without a hit allowed. But in the top of the ninth, Francis surrendered a solo home run to Angels outfielder Taylor Ward in the leadoff spot to end the no-hitter.

So in a couple of weeks, Francis saw a no-hitter taken away in the same, painful fashion.

Sadly for Francis and the Blue Jays, he didn't notch the win in the game. Yes, Lindor tied things up, but they also scored six total runs in the ninth inning on sacrifice flys by Starling Marte and Pete Alonso, and a three-run homer by Francisco Alvarez. Toronto did notch a run on an RBI single by Addison Barger, but they ended up losing 6-2.

In total, Francis recorded one strikeout and one walk in eight innings. On the year, Francis recorded a 3.50 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP, an 8-4 record, 82 strikeouts, and 20 walks in 92.2 innings (25 games, 11 starts).

What a brutal way to lose a no-hitter not just once, but twice in the span of a year.