Francisco Lindor ended Bowden Francis’ no-hit attempt with a tying home run to start the ninth inning. Francisco Alvarez then added a three-run home run, and the New York Mets scored six runs in their final at-bat to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-2 on Wednesday.
“It felt really good,” Lindor said about his crucial home run. “It was one of those hits that lifted the mood in the dugout.”
The Mets moved ahead of the Atlanta Braves for the final National League wild card spot after the Braves lost 5-1 to Washington.
With 29,399 fans cheering as the ninth inning began, Francis had Lindor at 0-2 before Lindor hit a 92 mph fastball 398 feet to right field for his 31st home run.
“Everything was going his way until the last pitch he threw,” Lindor said.
The home run came on Francis’ 111th pitch, only the second time he has thrown more than 100 pitches in a game.
“With that many pitches, I felt like I had to give it everything with fastballs and let him make contact,” Francis said.
This was the second time in four starts that Francis lost a no-hitter on a leadoff homer in the ninth inning—Taylor Ward did it off him for the Los Angeles Angels on August 24.
Francis is now the first pitcher to lose two no-hit bids in the ninth inning in a single season since Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan did it with Texas in 1989.
“It’s unfortunate for him that it’s happened twice in the same way,” Toronto manager John Schneider said.
Dave Stieb is the only pitcher in Blue Jays history to have thrown a no-hitter, which he did against Cleveland on September 2, 1990. Two years earlier, Stieb lost two no-hitters in the ninth inning.
Francis’ recent close calls are the longest no-hit bids by a Blue Jays pitcher since Brandon Morrow went 8 2/3 hitless innings against Tampa Bay in August 2010.
Francis was named AL pitcher of the month for August, going 4-1 with a 1.05 ERA. He struck out 39 and walked four in six games, five of them starts.
