Toronto right-hander Bowden Francis lost a no-hitter in the ninth inning Saturday afternoon as the Blue Jays defeated the visiting Los Angeles Angels 3-1.
Taylor Ward led off the ninth for Los Angeles with his 17th home run of the season to end the no-hit bid.
Dave Stieb has Toronto’s lone no-hitter, which came on Sept. 2, 1990, in Cleveland.
Francis (7-3) struck out a career-best 12 and walked three in eight-plus innings.
Chad Green replaced Francis after the home run and earned his 14th save.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a solo home run for the Blue Jays, who have won the first three games of the four-game series. They are 6-0 against the Angels this season.
Francis struck out his first four batters before walking two in the second inning. After plunking Ward with one out in the third, Francis got Zach Neto to ground into a double play and retired the next 10 batters before walking Anthony Rendon with one out in the seventh.
Francis ended the seventh with a flyout and a strikeout and tossed a perfect eighth as his pitch count reached a career-high 111. He finished with 117 pitches, 84 for strikes.
In the ninth, Ward worked a full count before he blasted a fastball just over the wall in center to end Francis’ bid for history.
Rendon, Matt Thaiss and Jo Adell each drew walks for Los Angeles, which has lost four straight games and seven of its last eight.
Angels right-hander Carson Fulmer (0-5) went six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and two walks (one intentional) with eight strikeouts.
Toronto scored twice in the first inning.
Daulton Varsho was given credit for an infield hit when Fulmer fielded a squibber down the first-base line that was about to roll foul and continued to third on Fulmer’s wild throw to first. Guerrero doubled home Varsho and scored on Joey Loperfido’s double to make it 2-0.
Varsho finished with two hits and extended his on-base streak to 22 games.
Guerrero led off the home eighth with his 27th home run of the season against Victor Mederos.
Angels center fielder Mickey Moniak (elbow) did not play for the second consecutive game. He was hit by a pitch in the series opener on Thursday.
–Field Level Media
